By: Chris Cheng
KILLEEN – One of the biggest fire departments in Bell County is in desperate need of a helping hand -- or hands.
With summer in full swing brush fires could soon become an ongoing problem and the Killeen Fire Department says they need more men.
"For 10 to 12 years now and were just having more and more difficulty filling the slots," Deputy Chief Brain Brank said.
At least a dozen volunteer firefighters are needed to fill out the Killeen Fire Departments ranks.
"Its important to have the volunteers to back us up because when we leave out the door if we have units that are uncovered in other words not being covered by personnel the volunteers will come in and fill those slots," Deputy Chief Brank said.
Currently, the department only has eight volunteers and with the dry season upon us it is not enough to be prepared.
The deputy chief said the volunteers are as crucial as paid firefighters once they are on the scene.
"They do respond to fire calls they come to wild land incidents they go to structure fires, practically anything we would want them, that's the citizens would need they help with," Deputy Chief Brank said.
We caught up with Justin Todd who was once a volunteer firefighter and now works out of one of Killeen's busiest stations, Fire Station 5.
"A lot of lives and a lot of property are saved by volunteer firefighters," Todd said.
Despite having a paid force, Justin says a large city like Killeen still needs all the help it can get.
"When we start getting into the later hours of the morning, we're tired, we're dried out, we're hot, having those volunteers come in, you got fresh mind, fresh body to come in and help out is just a big help," Todd said.
If you are interested in helping out, applications can be filled out at the Killeen Central Fire Station at 201 N. 28th Street.
