Lake Country Fire & Rescue looks to move to all full-time employees by 2026

DELAFIELD, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The future direction of Lake Country Fire & Rescue remains in question, after the seven communities it serves failed to come to an agreement tonight on the department's long-range plan, addressing staffing challenges.

Chief Fennig with Lake Country Fire & Rescue says the goal of the department is to transition to all full-time employees by 2026 -- helping response times for the community the department serves.

Leaders from all seven communities in Lake Country Fire & Rescue's jurisdiction gathered in the Kettle Moraine High School library Thursday night to discuss what some in the department have referred to as a staffing crisis.

"Fire doubles inside every 30 seconds, so that extra response time is minutes and seconds that are very very valuable to us," said Lake Country Fire & Rescue Chief Matthew Fennig.

The department will be hiring seven full-time positions in 2023. Long range plan calls for hiring six in 2024, six in 2025 and another three in 2026.

While voicing support for the department, several community leaders and citizens stressed the need for more research and conversation before a final decision is made to increase the service's budget.

"I think the workload needs to be spread out better," said one resident from the Town of Genesee.

City of Delafield Mayor Kent Atwell said his community will need to bring the plan to the community in the form of a referendum.

"We can start implementing plans and putting plans in place so we're ahead of the game rather than trying to play catch up," said Chief Fennig.

All seven municipalities have to come to an agreement on a plan.

During the meeting, Chief Fennig called on the community leaders to reach out to state lawmakers, saying the root cause of the staffing problem departments across the state are facing is in Madison.