OTTUMWA, IOWA -- KTVO reported on Wednesday that the Ottumwa City Council approved the hiring of three firefighters. The firefighters have not been hired yet, but according to Ottumwa Fire Chief Tony Miller, the interviews will take place in the coming weeks.

Thursday afternoon, KTVO spoke with Chief Miller. The chief gave us some insight into how the training process will take place, once the candidates are hired.

“We’ve got a really good list of candidates. A lot of them are already firefighter trained. A lot of them are EMS trained. It is a requirement that you have to be an EMT at the minimum to be hired. We will put the candidates through the classes that they have not already had. Those classes include; Firefighter 2, Fire Instructor 1 and Fire Officer 1,” said Chief Miller.

One of the major discussions at the council meeting focused on how the positions would be paid for. Chief Miller gave some insight into where the funds would come from.

“These positions have been budgeted since last year. They are in the current budget, and hopefully we will keep these guys for a long time,” said Chief Miller.

Chief Miller talked to KTVO about why these positions need to be filled.

“It is very important for the public, and it is very important for the other firefighters. The more guys you have, the safer you are going to be. And, you know you can only do so much with one guy when you run on medical emergencies, fire emergencies and hazmat emergencies. You just don’t know what you are going to come across,” said Miller.

For those interested in becoming a firefighter, there are many volunteer fire departments throughout southeast Iowa and the Heartland.