Andrew Blaney is one of the volunteers in the live-in program. He says he's loved his time staying at the station and encourages anyone interested to reach out wither through Facebook, their website or to stop by the station for a tour.

ADAMS TWP — The Adams Area Fire District is looking for dedicated volunteers to join its live-in program.

The program houses qualified volunteers at the station rent-free while they train and achieve qualifications and certifications to be firefighters.

Capt. Scott Sokolowski said it's a great opportunity for younger firefighters to quickly build experience and become certified in fighting fires and medical response, all on the district's dime.

“For the younger guys that are thoroughly into the fire department, and it might be something they want to do as a career, it allows you to quickly get a lot of experience,” he said.

In return for the room and training, live-in volunteers are required to spend 40 hours a week working on the station and its equipment. This provides the dual benefits of submerging new recruits in the ins and outs of what goes into fighting fires and keeping volunteers around the station in case a call comes in.

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“The program has done wonders for the Adams Area and the area we serve,” Sokolowski said. “Average response time has been right around eight, eight and a half minutes.”

It also keeps everything clean and in working order.

“We do stuff around here in the station from apparatus checks, checking the tools, equipment, making sure everything's running properly, everything's ready to go,” said Andrew Blaney.

Blaney is one of the volunteers currently in the program. He's been living at the station for the past few weeks, starting once he achieved the required certifications.

“Love it,” he said.” Good organization, definitely the one I was looking for when I came here, from the way we act on calls, from how we show up how we respond to it, what's expected for the fire department.”

He said living at the station is like a second job with the work requirements, but the workload is doable and well worth the effort.

Read the full story in the Butler Eagle.