DUBLIN, Ga. — The Laurens County Fire Department, like many rural fire departments, desperately needs volunteers.
A class of volunteer firefighter candidates at the Laurens County Fire Department took one step closer to their goal Saturday.
"It's a great opportunity to just work for my community," said Cleveland Wiley, a volunteer candidate.
The group began their day running two miles at Southern Pines Regional Park. Then they drove out to the burn building where they practiced a variety of skills required to be a firefighter.
Activities included dragging a hose, climbing stairs and ladders, hoisting and carrying equipment, forcing their way into a building,and dragging out victims. In this case, they used training dummies.
"This right is here is prepping me up for the real world of becoming a fireman," Wiley said.
Captain Allen Williamson says the course isn't just used to test the candidates' physical readiness for the job. It tests their commitment.
Wiley says he decided to go through the volunteer program after putting himself in the shoes of someone whose house burnt down.
"I thought, 'What if it was mine? What would I do if I was in that situation?' Why not take upon it when I have the time to be a volunteer and learn," he said.
But Wiley says he has even bigger plans after he reaches his goal.
"Next stop after becoming a volunteer is making it a career," he said.
Most Laurens County firefighters start out like Wiley.
"I would say 90-something percent of firefighters start as volunteers," Williamson said.
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With Laurens County being the third largest county in the state covering more than 800 square miles, Williamson says the department counts on volunteers.
"We sort of have to supplement everything with the volunteers. Without them, we just couldn't function," he said.
Williamson says the department needs at least 30 more volunteers, although they'd be happy to take even more.
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