Fire-Rescue Sponsorship Program for Non-Certified Recruits
Summary
The fire department will hire people with no certifications as paid city employees ($20/hour) and train them over 21 weeks to become sworn firefighter-EMTs, with a four-year service commitment. It's aimed at widening the recruiting pool and improving retention.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 3
- Last 30 days
- 0
Discussed at 1 meeting in the last 60 days; most recently Oct 7, 2026.
Impact analysis
Funded in the FY 2026-27 budget; the 21-week program is projected to cost less than the current 10-week academy and improve retention.
Career-changers, veterans, and recent graduates get a paid pathway into firefighting; residents gain a better-staffed fire department.
Mentions & discussions (3)
City Commission — October 7, 2026
Commissioners confirmed trained officers and firefighters are leaving for better pay and cheaper housing, taking the city's expensive training with them — and added the issue to the audit plan to find the common causes.
City Commission — September 3, 2026
The fire department will hire people with no certifications as paid city employees ($20/hour) and train them over 21 weeks to become sworn firefighter-EMTs, with a four-year service commitment. It's aimed at widening the recruiting pool and improving retention.
City Commission — April 29, 2026
The budget adds five positions — a fire assistant division chief, three fire lieutenants and a police real-time crime center analyst — plus 37 patrol vehicles, two fire engines, a tactical unit and a new ambulance.
We'll email you when it's on an upcoming agenda and when it's voted on, at most once a day.
The weekly brief for Pembroke Pines
What the council decided, in plain English — one email a week.
Free. Unsubscribe with one click any time. We never sell your email.