FARMINGTON -- As of the first of the year, Farmington Fire Department became a full-time, 24-hour fire station, with two firefighters on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Farmington City Council last year approved a request from fire Chief Mark Cunningham to hire three new firefighters so the city could implement a 24-hour service.
Cunningham, who is in his 18th year as fire chief, said having two firefighters at the station all the time will help the department to decrease its response time immensely
"Before when we had one guy here, we had to wait for someone else to show up before he could go out on a truck," Cunningham said. "Now we're out the door in a minute and a half."
With the housing and commercial growth in Farmington, a shorter response time will help residents in the community, he added.
Farmington firefighters responded to a record 990 calls in 2018, compared to 957 calls in 2017. The number of calls includes medical calls, fires, rescues and motor vehicle accidents.
Cunningham said he received 14 applications for the new positions.
Two of the new firefighters already served as volunteers with Farmington, and Cunningham said volunteers will receive preference for paid positions.
"They know the department and our system," Cunningham said.
The third new firefighter is a volunteer with Sunset and Whitehouse fire departments in the southeast part of Washington County.
Cunningham has paired each of his new firefighters with someone already in the department. In addition, he said each shift has a firefighter certified as an emergency medical technician.
The new firefighters are Logan Hattabaugh, Aaron Spahn and Dillon Jones.
Jones, 24, graduated from Farmington in 2013, and attended Arkansas Tech University to pursue a bachelor of science degree in parks and recreation. While there, he said he discovered he really wanted to be a firefighter so he dropped out of college and attended the fire academy.
"I wanted to serve my community," he said. "In my heart I'm meant to serve people. Every job I've had it's been to serve people."
Jones is a first responder and has been a volunteer firefighter with Farmington for about a year. He started full-time on Jan. 1.
Hattabaugh, 25, said he realized he wanted to be a firefighter after he joined the Sunset Fire Department at age 15.
"When I ran the first call, I knew that's what I wanted to be," Hattabuagh said.
Hattabaugh graduated from Elkins High School, worked for Central EMS for one year and has been with Madison County EMS for the past three years.
He said he applied for the Farmington position because he grew up in a small town and prefers working in a small town.
Spahn, 35, came to Farmington from the Fort Smith Fire Department where he had worked for the past 11 1/2 years. Spahn has been a Farmington volunteer for about one year.
For the past five years he has lived in Northwest Arkansas and commuted to Fort Smith for his job.
He said he applied for the Farmington position because he wanted to be able to see his wife and children.
Spahn started full-time Jan. 3. He's a first responder and is a hazmat technician.
In addition to starting a 24-hour department, Farmington also will have a fire substation located next to the city's public works building on Broyles Street. No one will be housed at the station but many volunteers live in the area and will be accessible to the site.
Farmington will have three vehicles at the substation -- an engine, brush truck and medical truck.
General News on 02/06/2019