The Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) has announced three new sites for apprenticeship programs for firefighters.
Corvallis Fire, the Coos Bay Fire Department, and Umatilla Fire District 1 will tap into funds allocated by the Oregon legislature to cover apprentice salaries.
Karl Koenig, the president of the Oregon State Fire Fighters Council, told KLCC the BOLI grants pay a minimum $3,800 per month salary, and the fire departments cover the cost of the five required college-level courses for the two year program.
Koenig said traditionally, getting into fire service meant training as a volunteer. “A lot of people take fire fighting off their list of things to do, because they frankly can’t afford to volunteer, which is rigorous and for no money, and then somehow still be able to go the Safeway and buy bread,” he said.
The apprenticeship model is meant to attract non-traditional applicants, and Koenig said so far, the programs have doubled the typical numbers for women, veterans and people of color. They're also popular. Koenig said 429 people applied for 14 spots at the program in Clackamas.
He said the three chosen locations have had dramatic increases in call volume for EMT and fire services in the past few years, and in the case of Coos Bay, the community had a goal of bringing more living wage jobs to the area, something that aligns with the BOLI initiative as well.
The program started in 2022 and has graduated the first class of journeyman firefighters. Koenig said only a couple of people didn’t complete the program, and that 95% of apprentices have found full-time positions.
Eugene Springfield Fire received an apprenticeship grant in 2022.
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