Excepts from the Chicago Tribune:
The Orland Fire Protection District board has approved hiring nine firefighter/paramedics to fill vacancies created by retirements. The district’s board of fire commissioners, a separate board, will review and select candidates from the existing eligibility list, according to the district.
Trustees at Tuesday’s meeting voted 3-0 to approve the new hires. Once they are selected, the firefighters will receive training through the district’s fire academy and will be subject to a one-year probationary period.
Last year, the fire district board approved hiring 10 firefighters to replace those who were retiring, and those 10 are scheduled to end their probationary period May 10. Once the nine new hires finish their probation, the district will have 111 firefighter/paramedics, a district spokesman said.
In the summer of 2012, the board approved hiring 11 firefighters to help bring down overtime costs that the district was incurring.
