Fighting fires is hard and the process to become a firefighter is difficult.

    That’s why the Meridian Fire Department is 18 firemen short of being fully staffed, said Fire Chief Anthony Clayton. Despite the shortfall, Clayton said the department has not had any major disruptions in response time to emergency situations.

    “Firefighting is difficult,” Clayton said. “In our current class, we started with 15 and we’re now down to eight. These are people who have already passed their initial tests, but the minimum training class takes seven to eight weeks. That’s just to get them to where they can hold an air pack. To get them fully ready to go into some tough situations like seeing someone broke up and having to cut them out of a car or a burning building, takes a lot more work and training.”

    Clayton said there are 90 active firemen in the Meridian Fire Department and that the department needs 108 to be fully staffed. That number does not include administrative staff.

    Clayton said there were 120 applicants attempting to qualify for the next firefighter training class.

    “We started with 120 applicants but after going through our first screening, we were left with 56,” Clayton said. “Out of that 56, only 36 showed up to take the test. Of that number, 22 passed. At that point, we do our background checks and about four of those had something questionable like a DUI or such. I’d say, out of that last 18, it’ll probably go to 12 to 15 who will make it to the training class.”

    And as Clayton said earlier, even those who make it to the training class, there will be attrition.

    “You’re going to have some wash out in training,” Clayton said. “This is a tough job.”