LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — After last week's fire at Goldman's Recycling, it became especially evident how essential Little Rock firefighters are to the community. And now, they're recruiting from the community for new members to join their ranks.
Captain Jason Weaver of the LRFD explained that this year's search comes as a part of an annual effort as older firefighters retire. "Every year we'll we'll have a class," Weaver explained.
And while this is a part of a recurring effort, this year's recruiting has a more specific focus. "They're looking to diversify, they'd like to get more minorities on the job so everyone has a fair shot at the test-taking," Weaver added.
But the test-taking itself and the rest of the path to join the squad is easier said than done— and the newest members of the Little Rock team remember their training well.
"Training was brutal it was 15 weeks long, lots of [physical training] every morning along with book training," Probationary Firefighter Heath Brown said.
But the new recruits shared that the intense training was worth it to give back to their community.
Another new recruit and Probationary Firefighter Codey Davis shared he was inspired to join LRFD after firefighters from the unit helped his own family in a time of need.
"One of the main reasons why I, you know, I decided to be a firefighter is that when it's somebody's worst day of their life, we get to be those guys that go out there and become the heroes for them," Davis shared.
Recruitment is going on through October 10th and applications can be found on www.littlerock.gov.