WAUKEE, Iowa — As the fastest growing community in the Des Moines metro, Waukee's police and fire departments are ready to expand not only their space, but their workforce as well.
Waukee Fire is making a hiring push as the city's population growth continues to accelerate year over year, meaning more calls for service.
"As the city expands geographically, like where the new Northwest High School is, the Natatorium, the population up there has just grown exponentially," said Chief Clint Robinson. "Right now, it actually takes us quite a bit of time to drive there from here."
Applications for a handful of openings within the Waukee Fire Department, including dual firefighter/EMT positions and paramedic roles, were due Wednesday.
The department has been busy preparing for the future, investing in additional staff to improve quality of service. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Waukee's population grew 32% between 2020 and 2023.
As the application deadline has now come and gone, Robinson says they've received enough interest in order to expand.
"We now have to cull through those to make sure everybody meets the qualifications," Robinson said, adding that firefighter applicants must also have their EMT-B certification.
Not all firefighters are paramedics, so the department is looking to hire as many paramedics as they can. With about 80% of their call volume needing emergency medical services (EMS), this will be crucial to keeping pace with community growth.
Last spring, Waukee broke ground on a new, 90,000-square-foot public safety center on the city's western edge.
It will house the additional firefighters, paramedics and EMTs, as well as Waukee's police force. Both departments have been housed in the same building since 2000.
"The police department, they're even more scrapped for space than we are, to be honest with you," Robinson added.
Construction on Waukee's new public safety center is ahead of schedule, and the building should open to the public by July of 2025.