By Bill Carey
SA国际传媒
BELLEVUE, Neb. 鈥� Bellevue city council members approved a $4 an hour raise for firefighter/paramedics to retain current personnel and recruit more.
The Bellevue Fire Department has 20 firefighters who are also paramedics and EMS is approximately 85% of the job, reported.
鈥淲e鈥檝e lost a couple of paramedics in the past to other departments and promotions,鈥� Firefighter/Paramedic Troy Nawrocki said about the need for the raise. 鈥淭hat will give us the numbers and hopefully keep people here.鈥�
The department hopes to add another 6 to 10 firefighter/paramedics to its roster.
鈥淲e need more paramedics so that we can rotate off,鈥� Captain Russ Herting said. 鈥淪o, paramedics can remain proficient as firefighters and firefighters as paramedics can remain proficient while working in the medical units.鈥�
The department is considering changing qualifications and assisting with training to become a paramedic as opposed to requiring paramedic certification to apply, reported.