Part-time Firefighters in Oak Forest Could Get Pay Boost

OAK FOREST, IL — Oak Forest's part-time firefighter and paramedics could see their pay increase by nearly 54 percent if the city agrees to boost the hourly rate to $20 from $13 at tonight's board meeting.

Fire Chief Patrick Duffy will be asking the board to consider the proposal because Oak Forest is losing recruits to nearby departments that pay more.

"Due to our current pay structure, hiring and retaining part-time firefighters has become impossible," he wrote in a memo to the board.

The higher rate would make Oak Forest more attractive to workers, he said.

Research shows that Midlothian and Homewood pay an hourly rate of $20; Country Club Hills pays $19 to $24, depending on education; and Flossmoor pays $21.

At $13 an hour, Oak Forest is asking part-timers to be trained and to perform at the same level full-time firefighter do at a rate far below the city's competition, Duffy wrote. The city employs seven part-time firefighters.

When part-timers are not available, the department fills vacancies with full-time firefighters. The department must pay those employees $49 a hour, which pushes costs even higher.

Oak Forest has used part-time staff since 2009, and in recent years, Duffy said, recruitment and retention has become difficult. The staff the department employs hold certifications for both firefighting and for paramedics, which make them highly desirable on the market.

In the past 90 days, the department lost firefighters to take full-time, career positions with Sugar Grove, Manhattan and and the Orland fire protection districts, as well as the University Park and Memphis, Tenn., fire departments.

The department also will push a hiring campaign for part-time positions through social media, Duffy said.

The Oak Forest City Council meeting will be held at 8 p.m. at 5440 S. Central Avenue.

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