Soon, one Michigan city will be using Department of Public Works employees to fight fires.
An agreement between the city of Center Line and one of its labor unions allows DPW workers to be cross-trained as firefighters, according to The Daily Tribune.
Those workers will serve as on-call firefighters and will stop doing their regular duties if called to help with a fire.
They will keep turnout gear in their trucks and drive directly to the scene of the fire.
While the city currently employs paid, on-call firefighters, several of them are unable to respond to calls during the day because of their full-time jobs.
City Manager John Michrina told the newspaper that the agreement allows the city to improve its service and response times at a minimal cost.
The 1 1/2-square-mile city is home to about 8,200 residents.
