COVINGTON, Ky. – The city of Covington’s new firefighter cadet program aims to bolster its next generation of firefighters amidst staffing challenges.

What You Need To Know

  • Fire departments across the country are facing staffing challenges

  • Covington Assistant Fire Chief Corey Deye said he believes COVID is a factor in those challenges

  • The Covington Fire Department is implementing a cadet program to recruit the next generation of firefighters

  • The department will pay for cadets to attend EMT, firefighter and paramedic school

Anyone who’s ever needed to call a firefighter knows the disasters that could arise if no one was there to pick up the phone. That alarming possibility looms over communities everywhere.

“Because the fire service as a whole is hurting for firefighters and paramedics across the state and the region,” said Covington Fire Department Assistant Chief of Training Corey Deye.

The Covington Fire Department is seeking four recent high school graduates to become the inaugural members of the department’s cadet program, a new training initiative that aims to create a firefighter pipeline. 

Deye said it’s a pipeline the city is going to need in the coming years.

“I think some of it is just a generation, just the world today. I don’t really know or understand what has caused the shortage for the trades and the fire service,” he said. “Some of it is COVID. We quit going into the schools because of COVID. The school system just didn’t want us in, which is reasonable.”

It takes a special person to be willing to run into a burning building, so the fire department does have to balance its need for more people with the need to find the right people.

Deye said cadets will ideally stay with CFD for 20 to 25 years or longer.

“It’s kind of an adrenaline rush, some of these runs, that you have to problem-solve through on the fly. And if you like helping people, that is what it’s about,” Deye said. “We see some very horrific scenes. We see people at their worst. But it’s kind of comforting to know that you can fix a lot of those problems.”

Cadets will be part-time employees, paid for 16 to 20 hours a week. They’ll work around the firehouse and accompany experienced firefighters on fire and EMS runs. CFD will pay for them to go to EMT school, firefighter school and eventually paramedic school.

If they make it through the entire program, they’ll move to the top of the hiring list for full-time firefighters, and then potentially into what Deye described as not only an “awesome job,” but a family.

Deye already has five interviews lined up for the four spots, and is looking to do more interviews. The Covington City Commission has devoted about $100,000 to the program.

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