WAKE COUNTY, N.C. — If you’ve ever dreamed of becoming a firefighter and EMT, Wake County can help that dream come true. For the second time, the county is accepting applications for its Career in a Year training program.

What You Need To Know

Those accepted into the 38-week program will be paid a salary and receive benefits. Also, graduates will be guaranteed a job with a local fire department.

The program was first offered last year. Wake County Fire and Emergency Management noticed it had a turnover issue within the fire department’s lower ranks over the past few years. The department wanted to solve this issue by offering incentives. Along with this, the county is hoping to grow diversity inside the workforce.

One of the program participants, who will be a part of the first class of graduates, said she’s happy to see the county trying to make changes.

“I think that it’s really good for the people who are going to help you or the work service, anybody who you call for help should reflect the community, so I’m really glad that they’ve taken these steps to make sure that is there,” Tasia Maddox, the 21-year-old program participant, said. “It’s hard sometimes to relate and help the patient to the best of your ability if you can’t relate on their level. Like a man helping a woman, sometimes a woman isn’t going to be as comfortable with a man helping them as a woman and vice versa.”

Maddox said while this program is helping to diversify the workforce, it’s also giving her a chance to live out her dreams of being a firefighter.

“When my mom was deployed to Afghanistan, I lived with my uncle, who is a firefighter in Indianapolis, Indiana. I used to go there all the time and just hang out,” Maddox said. “It was just a calling really, the homey feeling, the family, all of that. It feels really nice. So, I thought, I was interested at a young age, might as well.”

Maddox said the lights on the firetrucks and sirens always made her smile as a kid, and until this day, she feels the same. Adding, she’s grateful for this experience.

“Honestly, it’s fun. You make a lot of friends and it’s kind of sad that we are going to graduate here in a little bit because I’m going to miss seeing everybody, but I’m ready to get out there and help people,” Maddox said.

She said one of her favorite parts of the job is doing search and rescue.

“Just getting people out of hard places, things that make your mind work, those things are always fun,” Maddox said.

Darrell Alford, Wake County director of Fire and Emergency Management, said before this program started, their departments weren’t as diverse as they are now.

“It was around a 40% diverse pool, and when I say diverse pool, I mean anything other than a white male. The fire service is, I hate to use the word dominated, but it’s mostly white male,” Alford said.

“United State fire demographics are like 72% white male, the next highest is probably Hispanic/Latino at 13%, with about 4.4% of the population being female. In Wake County last year, before we started this program, we were at less than the national average, we were only at 4% female, and were like 93.6% white, with 90% of those being white male,” Alford said. “We have now moved that up to 7.7% diversity and 4.4% female.”

Alford said the program is showing to be successful, as well as recruitment. He said typically a fire department that is hiring two or three positions will get around 10 or 12 applications. He said for this program, it included six fire departments and had the opportunity for 37 applicants, but had nearly 250 applications come in.

The county is now planning the program’s second year. Leaders involved are hoping to not only continue the positive growth in their departments, but also to help people like Maddox reach their full potential.

“Right now I’m just really a living a dream. It doesn’t feel real. This opportunity was so good, and it came at such a perfect time in my life and my transition,” Maddox said.

We’re told the current fire academy class, that is a part of this program, is the most diverse ever. The student body is 11% women and 28% non-white. They will graduate from the program on June 20.

If you’re interested in being part of the next class of future firefighters, you can head to the Wake County Government website to apply. You have until June 23.