Getting volunteer firefighters in Washington Parish has become challenging for local fire stations.
Chief Jeremy Freeman leads Fire District 9 in Mt. Hermon. He said the need for more firefighters is critical. However, with the latest decision to close the upper school at Mt. Hermon in 2027, he’s worried about the future of the department.
“It would be significantly harmful because even my son has been looking forward to doing the junior fire department program,” Mt. Hermon fire Capt. Frank Smith said.
Freeman told WDSU students ages 16-18 come over to the fire station right after school on Mondays for the Junior Firefighter program. Some of those teenagers graduated and are now volunteer firefighters for the Mt. Hermon department.
This could soon change; the school board’s decision is currently under litigation, but the Judge could uphold their decision, and Freeman believes it will put a strain on the department that is already struggling to get people to volunteer.
“They’re able to see what we do and learn and train with us,” Freeman said. “With the school closing, we will only have primary kids; we will not have those kids to pull up.”
Freeman said to adequately run the department, he needs 20 to 25 firefighters; he has 10 and his team has already responded to 270 calls this year, which is up from last year’s 192.
Mt. Hermon is not the only fire district in the parish that needs volunteer firefighters.
The assistant fire chief in Angie told WDSU some fire stations have only three or four volunteer firefighters.
According to first responders, the shortage is having a negative impact on emergency response times. Freeman said some calls could take close to 30 minutes for help to arrive.
“You don’t want to get an emergency call, and they say, ‘We don’t have enough firefighters,’ that’s what we worry about,” Freeman said.
All nine fire districts in Washington Parish need volunteers. If you are interested in volunteering in Mt. Hermon, you can go to the fire station on Monday nights at 7 p.m. to get more information.
If you would like to volunteer in a different district, you can contact your local fire department to see how to get started.
