By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Lubbock Fire Rescue is transitioning from a 24-on, 48-off schedule to a 24-on, 72-off schedule under an agreement approved by the Lubbock City Council.
- The new schedule requires adding a fourth shift across the department’s 20 fire stations, necessitating 133 additional firefighters over the next six years.
- The department plans to hire about 22 firefighters annually during that period.
- A new lateral hiring process will allow certified, experienced firefighters from other departments to transfer into Lubbock Fire Rescue after a roughly six-week orientation academy.
- Applications for the lateral hiring program close Oct. 2 at 5 p.m.; the program does not change the department’s existing hiring process for other applicants.
LUBBOCK, Texas — Lubbock Fire Rescue is expanding hiring opportunities for experienced firefighters as the department prepares to add more than 100 positions over the next six years under a new work schedule approved by the City Council.
The department is shifting from its current 24-on, 48-off schedule to a 24-on, 72-off schedule, according to KCBD. To support the change, Lubbock Fire Rescue will add a fourth shift across its 20 fire stations, requiring 133 additional firefighters.
Public Information Officer Delgado said the transition also creates a new lateral hiring process aimed at recruiting already certified and trained firefighters from other departments. “They’ll still go through a short academy. Ultimately, probably about six weeks just for them to understand the way that Lubbock Fire Rescue operates,” Delgado said. “These are the platforms that we use for reporting, these are our protocols for medical calls, these are our procedures for large-scale incidents. That way they can understand the Lubbock Fire way of doing things.”
Lateral hires will complete the six-week training program before being assigned to shifts. The department plans to hire approximately 22 firefighters annually over the next six years to reach its staffing target, and the new lateral program will operate alongside, rather than replace, Lubbock Fire Rescue’s existing hiring process for other applicants.
Applications for the lateral hiring program close Oct. 2 at 5 p.m.