New Firefighters Join Tulsa Ranks

There are 35 new Tulsa firefighters on the job; the cadets graduated Monday, but it's still not enough to fully staff the city.

The fire department is still in need of about 20 firefighters to help staff all of the city’s fire stations. And with a hiring freeze in place, that relief likely isn't coming anytime soon.

It was an exciting day for the 35 men and women; with a diploma in hand they are now officially Tulsa Firefighters.

"Very excited and very humbled," said graduate Traer Burnett.

Burnett's dad is a captain with the Claremore Fire Department. His father's love for the job inspired him to pursue the same career.

"All the other kids in school would talk about how their dads hated their job and I said, ‘Shoot, my dad loves his job and he can't wait to go to work.’ So I knew very early on that's what I wanted to do with my life," Burnett said.

Even with the 35 new cadets, the department is still down about 20 firefighters.

12/10/2015 Related Story: 'Difficult Budget Season' Prompts Tulsa Mayor To Issue Hiring Freeze

As many as two firefighters retire every month, so with a hiring freeze in place, the gap will continue to widen through 2016.

It also means firefighters will work more overtime.

Chief Ray Driskell with the Tulsa Fire Department said, "In the fire service we have mandatory overtime as well. So, if we don't have people who want to come back and work, then we have to get people over and they never get to come home and they end up working 48 hours."

Driskell said it's physically and mentally exhausting.

Right now three firefighters are on each fire truck - the national standard is four.

Driskell hopes one day the Tulsa Fire Department will meet that standard, which will benefit everyone. 

"When you do that you can complete tasks quite a bit quicker and reduce injuries," he said.

A public safety tax proposal will go before voters in April as part of the Vision 20-25 tax renewal; if approved, it will likely add some firefighter positions.