The Princeton Council is on its way to hiring its first paid firefighters to staff the Princeton Fire Department.
The Princeton Council gave final approval to an ordinance to create the position of a permanent, paid firefighter at its Jan. 27 meeting.
The formerly all-volunteer fire department will become a combination paid/volunteer fire department.
The move to hire six full-time, paid firefighters puts an end to the Princeton Fire Department’s 232-year history as an all-volunteer fire department.
It was organized in 1788, making it one of the oldest all-volunteer fire companies in New Jersey.
The Princeton Council budgeted money in its 2019 municipal budget to hire six full-time, paid firefighters. The ordinance that was approved Jan. 27 puts the plan into effect.
The Princeton Council also adopted a salary ordinance that sets the paid firefighters’ salary range from $49,000 to $54,500. The ordinance was also adopted at the Jan. 27 meeting.
Under the ordinance, applicants to become paid firefighters must meet minimum requirements that include holding United States citizenship, being a New Jersey resident and being able to meet the requirements to join the police and firefighters’ pension system.
Applicants to become paid firefighters must be high school graduates, and be able to read, write and speak English. They must be between 21 years old and 40 years old.
They must “be of good moral character” and “not have been convicted of any criminal offense involving moral turpitude,” the ordinance said.
Applicants to fill the six slots must take a written test, a physical agility test and then undergo a formal interview with Princeton Fire Department personnel. Background checks and medical testing are required.
The six paid firefighters will be chosen from among the volunteer or associate members of the Princeton Fire Department. They must have been active firefighters with the Princeton Fire Department for at least two years, which means they meet the training requirements and respond to calls.
Volunteer members belong to one of the three companies – Princeton Engine Co. No. 1, Princeton Hook & Ladder Co., and Mercer Engine Co. No. 3 – that make up the Princeton Fire Department.
Associate members are also volunteers, but they do not belong to any of the three fire companies. They are available to respond during their regular work hours because they work nearby. Many of the associate members work at Princeton University.
The recommendation to hire full-time paid firefighters grew out of a study of the Princeton Fire Department by the Rodgers Group at the request of the Princeton Council.
The consultant’s report offered 19 recommendations that addressed fire department operations and how it could encourage more volunteer members.
One of the recommendations called for establishing a more robust staffing plan for the Princeton Fire Department, to include hiring paid firefighters to provide a more timely and consistent response to fire and other emergencies while steps were being taken to attract more volunteers.
The Princeton Fire Department counted 81 volunteer members, according to the Rodgers Group study. Of those members, 29 were trained and qualified to fight fires.
But of those 29 volunteers, 10 to 15 responded to calls on a regular basis. Only about half of those volunteers lived in Princeton. The remainder lived out of town, which means it takes longer to drive to to the firehouse and respond to a call – and the longer it takes to get to a call.
