HARRISON COUNTY, Ind. — A fire department in Harrison County is making a huge difference in its response times after adding paid firefighters to its volunteer lineup.
"Our response time is more vital now than it ever has been," Harrison Township Fire Chief Jon Saulman said. The Harrison Township Fire Department covers 100 square miles in and around Corydon, Indiana.
"A lot of times, when we would get up on scene of a house fire, one of the first responses was, 'what took you so long?' I don't think people realized we were truly 100 percent volunteer," Chief Saulman said.
A year ago, the average time it took these firefighters to get to a scene was 12 to 14 minutes. More than half that time was spent on firefighters just getting to the station, many of whom had other jobs and families at home.
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"When I'd get called in from the house, it'd take about 10 minutes just one way to come in, which is an average time for a lot of our guys," Joshua Bottorff, a Harrison Township firefighter said.
That changed last September, when the department began hiring paid, full-time firefighters, starting with Chief Saulman.
"Our goal is to have paid firefighters here 24 hours a day," he said.
It's now the case on weekdays, with four firefighters rotating on a 24-hour shift Monday through Friday. Three are paid. The other is one of the department's 30 volunteers. In all, there are 7 full-time firefighters.
As a result, the department has knocked its response time in half, arriving on scene within 4 to 6 minutes.
"That's a tremendous difference in helping our community in their time of need," Bottorff said.
"It's not to push volunteers out the door, like people would think, it's just to have the guys here to have that initial truck out and be quicker in making that rescue if need be," the chief said.
"To me, there's no difference between the two. We still do the same job," Bottorff said.
The goal is to have three full-time crews by the end of 2020, but the weekends will remain volunteer until the county approves more money in the budget. Saulman plans to ask the council for more money in the fall.
With about 30 volunteers on the roster, he says there's always room for more.
"They're still a huge part of our department," the chief said.
If you'd like to become a volunteer with the Harrison Township Fire Department, you can pick up an application at the firehouse located on Old State Road 135, near Corydon.
Contact reporter Brooke Hasch at bhasch@whas11.com. Follow her on Twitter (@WHAS11Hasch) and Facebook.
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