By Bill Carey
EMS1
BELLEVUE, Neb. — 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, KMTV reported.
“We’ve lost a couple of paramedics in the past to other departments and promotions,” Firefighter/Paramedic Troy Nawrocki said about the need for the raise. “That will give us the numbers and hopefully keep people here.”
The department hopes to add another 6 to 10 firefighter/paramedics to its roster.
“We need more paramedics so that we can rotate off,” Captain Russ Herting said. “So, paramedics can remain proficient as firefighters and firefighters as paramedics can remain proficient while working in the medical units.”
The department is considering changing qualifications and assisting with training to become a paramedic as opposed to requiring paramedic certification to apply, WOWT reported.