Rock Community Fire Protection District added to its ranks Monday night (April 10).
The Rock Fire Board of Directors agreed at their meeting that night to hire Mike Douglas, 27, of Barnhart as the newest firefighter. He will officially start April 17.
Douglas was one of four finalists for the job. The candidates were interviewed during a March 27 closed session.
“The good and the bad about it was we had four very strong candidates; unfortunately, we could only pick one,” Chief Jeff Broombaugh said. “They were all close. (Douglas) just impressed the administration, not only with his credentials and everything but just in general. We couldn’t have been wrong picking any one of those four guys.”
With the addition of Douglas, it brings Rock Fire’s firefighting staff up to 54 and evens out the department’s three shifts to 18 firefighters each. His starting salary will be $46,000, which may increase to $54,000 after a three-year probation period, Broombaugh said.
The hiring of Douglas is the district’s first step to return its firefighting force to 60 after voters narrowly approved a 50-cent tax increase, called Proposition Life Safety, on April 4.
The district plans to hire six more firefighters around the first of next year when it starts collecting revenue from the increase.
“We are going to follow through with our promises to the public,” Broombaugh said. “One of our biggest one was getting the people back on the firetrucks. That is the biggest impact for the citizens is when they call they get the help. That is where we are going to concentrate. I think Mike is a good addition to that commitment to our public.”
Douglas told the district during his interview that he wanted to be a firefighter ever since Rock firefighters visited his class when he was at Simpson Elementary, Deputy Chief Steve Vargo said.
Douglas, who graduated from Seckman High School, earned his associate degree in applied science in paramedic technology from St. Louis Community College in 2011. He earned his associated degree in nursing (registered nurse) from Mineral Area College in 2013.
Douglas began working part time for Rock Township Ambulance in 2012 and has been a full-time employee there for the last two and half years. He’s also a part-time nurse at Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Crystal City, Vargo said.
He also was a volunteer for the Affton Fire Protection District from 2012-2016.
“The thing that made him standout is he is already familiar with Rock Community,” Vargo said.
“A lot of our guys knew him and endorsed him; that was probably one of the key factors. He also has a tremendous amount of (emergency medical services) education. He is a paramedic and also a registered nurse, which is above and beyond our requirement.”
Rock Fire covers Kimmswick and parts of Arnold, Imperial and Barnhart. It has five houses, including two in Arnold, two in the Arnold area and one in Imperial.