DEARBORN, MI — Dearborn is offering nearly $72,000 a year, benefits and paid training to attract new firefighters as departments across Michigan struggle to recruit qualified paramedics.

The Dearborn Fire Department has launched a recruitment program that allows candidates with certain firefighting or emergency medical certifications to be hired while completing their remaining training.

Candidates will receive a starting salary of $71,966, along with benefits and department-funded education. Once they complete the required certifications, they will transition into firefighter/paramedic positions.

The initiative comes as Dearborn looks to hire 16 firefighters and increase its authorized staffing from 146 to 158 positions, the highest level in the department’s 119-year history.

Dearborn Fire Chief Joseph Murray said recruiting qualified firefighter/paramedics has become increasingly difficult as departments compete for a limited pool of applicants.

“When I applied to be a firefighter 25 years ago, I would do a circuit going to all these cities, and I would test in gymnasiums full of people just to get on a list,” Murray said.

Today, he said, Dearborn sometimes receives only four or five applications during a recruitment period.

Murray said the hiring landscape has changed significantly, with qualified paramedics increasingly able to choose among departments offering competitive salaries and benefits.

At the same time, demand for emergency services continues to grow.

Murray said Dearborn handled approximately 3,500 fire department calls in 1968, compared with more than 18,000 annually today, despite having roughly the same population.

To address those challenges, the department worked with the Dearborn Firefighters Union to develop a program aimed at removing some of the financial and educational barriers facing prospective applicants.

Under the new initiative, candidates who have earned Michigan Firefighter 1 and 2 certifications and an EMT-Basic license can be hired while completing paramedic training.

Licensed paramedics who have not yet obtained their firefighter certifications are also eligible.

Murray said paramedic training can take anywhere from 10 months to two years and cost thousands of dollars, making it difficult for some prospective firefighters to balance school, work and family responsibilities.

By providing a salary, benefits and covering education costs, the department hopes to make the career more accessible while maintaining its certification requirements.

“We really want them to focus on school, make sure they’re successful, and then once they get their license, then they just transition automatically onto the line,” Murray said.

Dearborn is also increasing its starting salary for fully certified firefighter/paramedics to $75,787.

Additional incentives include opportunities for lateral transfers, accelerated pay increases and the ability for experienced firefighters to purchase prior service time.

Although Michigan has seen growth in its licensed paramedic workforce, fire departments continue to report difficulties recruiting qualified applicants.

Michigan had 9,855 licensed paramedics as of Oct. 1, 2026, compared with 9,082 in 2021, according to data provided by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The state also recorded 538 paramedic course completions in 2025, up from 436 in 2022.

MDHHS officials said they have heard reports of improving staffing conditions across Michigan, although recruitment remains particularly challenging in rural communities where full-time positions with benefits are less common.

The state does not track the number of vacant paramedic positions statewide, making it difficult to determine exactly how many additional workers are needed.

State officials said agencies seeing success in recruitment are increasingly hiring candidates and supporting them through training rather than relying solely on recruiting already-certified workers from other departments.

That approach mirrors Dearborn’s new program, which is designed to develop qualified firefighter/paramedics while helping the department meet its staffing needs.

Murray said the challenges facing emergency medical services include the cost and length of paramedic education, competition among departments and changing interest in public safety careers.

He said Michigan’s EMS Workforce Grant Program has helped support paramedic education, giving him cautious optimism about efforts to strengthen the workforce.

The Dearborn program was developed in partnership with Dearborn Firefighters Association Local 412 and received support from Mayor Abdullah Hammoud’s administration.

Union President Jeffrey Lentz said the agreement could help attract candidates from Dearborn and surrounding communities while maintaining emergency services for residents.

Murray said the goal is to make firefighting careers more accessible without compromising the department’s standards.

“The long-term solution must never be to lower professional standards, but to make fire/EMS service careers accessible, financially sustainable, and attractive enough to recruit and retain the qualified people our community needs,” Murray said.

Applications for the Dearborn Fire Department are available at Dearborn.gov/Jobs.

©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.