Lake Country Fire aims to transition away from part-time firefighters in 4 year staffing plan

The need for more staffing is affecting fire departments across the state. Thursday night, the Lake Country Fire and Rescue squad held a meeting to unveil their plan to get more people on the job. Lake Country Fire services seven communities in Waukesha County’s Lake Country area, covering around 28,000 residents. Lake Country Fire Chief Matt Fennig says the number of job openings Southeastern Wisconsin is facing in 2023 is record-breaking. “In 2023 we are aware of over 100 full-time openings,” said Fennig. A decade ago that number would be between 10 to 20 openings. That skyrocketing need for more people on the job is raising fire response times by 30% and forcing the department to sit down and brainstorm solutions.