The union that represents Normal’s firefighters says the community’s housing shortage has worsened an already difficult time to recruit.
Recruitment has been a real struggle for myriad reasons, said Matt Hill with the Normal Firefighters IAFF Local 2442. There are fewer EMTs and paramedics coming into the pipeline, slowed by COVID and also by other forces, Hill said. There are just not as many people interested in joining the career field, he said.
“As retirements come up and attrition happens, it has been harder to keep our staffing full. Which has led to more overtime shifts and just more work for the smaller group of people on the fire department,” Hill said. The department has 60 people when at full strength, with starting pay between $62,000 to $65,000 for a firefighter EMT or paramedic, he said.
The housing shortage is another challenge on top of that.
“It’s a little bit harder for someone who has a residence in a town somewhere else to sell their home, and then turn around and buy a home here in a timely manner. Those sorts of decisions can weigh on some of our people to either not test here or take a job here,” Hill said. “And then, of course, the ones who are fortunate enough to want to work here and take the job and they come here, they face a little bit more of a challenge to find affordable housing. And to rent, lease, or when their probationary year comes up and they know they’re secure in their job here and they’re gonna make their career here, and they go to look for housing, they face a little bit of an uphill battle.”
The union is open to discussing changes to the Town of Normal policy requiring that its employees live in McLean County or within a 20-mile radius of the intersection of Main and College Avenue. That requirement is also listed in the firefighters’ contract.
An expanded radius could attract more applicants from across central Illinois if they know they don’t have to move, Hill said. What about the downsides?
“We still do have emergencies that at times require people to come in from home, so that could extend that out a little bit,” Hill said. “But I don’t think we’d be looking to extend it to some huge radius or anything like that. We know we’d have to stick pretty close to the Bloomington-Normal area. But anytime you widen the radius, you might get a few more applicants. That could be helpful.”
WGLT asked Hill if Normal Fire Department personnel who don’t live in town would protect the community any differently than those that do.
“We all take the same oath to serve and protect the community we’re responsible for. We approach it with the same responsibility to do the job the best that we can. We don’t treat it any different, regardless of how far our drive to work is,” Hill said.
When asked if the town has considered expanding or lifting the 20-mile radius requirement, a town spokesperson said they “regularly review policies to ensure we can recruit and retain the highest quality workforce.” The spokesperson said “police and fire personnel work under collectively bargained contracts. Changes of this nature are dictated by contract negotiations.”
For firefighters working for the City of Bloomington, their current contract requires them to live within a 50-mile radius of the intersection of North Main and Locust streets. New employees must establish residency within 18 months of their hiring. Bloomington’s city manager may grant an exception for family hardships on a case-by-case basis.
