ORANGE PARK, Fla. – The biggest challenge for the fire department in the Town of Orange Park is keeping firefighters and filling vacancies.
The Orange Park Fire Chief told News4JAX he has 21 firefighters and one rescue unit.
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Firefighters at a station not far from Orange Park Town Hall responded to nearly 3,800 calls last year, which breaks down to about 11 calls a day.
About 70% of those are medical calls, since, according to the chief, there are a lot of retirees in the town.
The department’s response time to emergencies within the town averaged 4 minutes and 54 seconds, so just under 5 minutes, in December of last year.
There are currently three firefighter positions available.
The chief says in the last 10 years, the department has lost 13 firefighters to larger agencies.
They responded last year to 14 fires within the town and also helped other agencies by responding to 20 other fires.
That means the department does not respond to nearly as many calls as the Clay County Fire Department, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue or St. Johns County Fire Department.
While those low numbers of emergencies and fires are a good thing for the town, the chief said it can be a challenge to attract young firefighters who want more action and more opportunities to get experience.
He said the town’s pay for firefighters is competitive, so if you are interested, you can call the Town of Orange Park Fire Department at 904-264-3411.
While the department does not have a Hazmat crew or urban search and rescue team, it does have automatic aid and mutual aid agreements with Clay County, the city of Jacksonville and NAS Jacksonville.