LE CLAIRE, Iowa — Ask any firefighter and they will tell you seconds count.
Ask Shane Bleeker how he is feeling right now, and he is likely counting seconds, too.
"It has been a juggle of back and forth and getting this ready to start on Monday, too," Bleeker said.
Monday, Sept. 12, is Bleeker's first day as the LeClaire Fire Department's full-time fire chief. It's a position the city has never needed or employed, since the fire department is made up of volunteers.
On Monday, that changes.
"It’ll be neat to see what the future holds as the department and city grows with it," Bleeker said.
Bleeker started his firefighter career in 2015 as a volunteer in his hometown of LeClaire. In 2018, Bleeker and his family moved to Mason City, Iowa, where he became a firefighter.
Then in 2020, Bleeker's family moved back to LeClaire. Since then, he's re-joined as a volunteer firefighter in LeClaire and also worked as a full-time firefighter in Bettendorf.
At 25 years old, Bleeker is now responsible for leading the department's growth.
Right now, the LeClaire Fire Department is averaging about 450 to 500 calls per year, Bleeker said. That number continues to go up each year.
"Volunteers are scarce across the board right now, doesn't matter where right now," Bleeker said. That's especially true during the daytime hours, when people are at their full-time jobs, Bleeker added.
The LeClaire Fire Department currently has 17 volunteer firefighters. Bleeker would like to have 25 volunteers on the force regularly, though he has the ability and space to have about 30 firefighters on the force, he said.
Recruitment will be Bleeker's first priority when he starts his duties as chief. He said he plans to apply for grants to help increase the department's visibility and use social media as a key recruitment tool, among other plans, he said.
Bleeker also plans to focus on training for volunteer firefighters. Bleeker said he plans to improve upon the training already in place so his first responders can respond appropriately and quickly to any call.
City Administrator Dennis Bockenstedt called Bleeker's hiring "a significant step."
"Maybe that decades of experience isn’t there," Bockenstedt said. "I believe he has the ability to learn and grow."
Bockenstedt also said the LeClaire community has grown over the past few decades, which makes this step necessary to meet the community's needs.
"It’s a benchmark for the city that we now have a full-time fire chief," Bockenstedt said.
"Even across the street there’s 200-and-some homes coming in over the next few years," Bleeker said, looking out the bay doors at the fire station.
Bleeker will now be at the fire station every day, Monday through Friday, and during major response times. In addition to developing his own job description and duties, he is also responsible for developing duties for a Fire Captain position, which will also be a full-time role alongside Bleeker.
"Both roles will be 'working roles' if you will, administrative and on the floor running calls day to day," Bleeker said.
That structure allows a crew to always be available to respond to a call during the day, improving response times and saving time when seconds count.
The City of LeClaire has not determined when it will begin the hiring process for that second full-time position, but expects to do so "soon," Bockenstedt said.
Despite the challenges ahead, this new full-time role will allow Bleeker to move his career and his hometown department forward, and make every second count.
Current volunteer chief Jim Bradley will remain with the department. He has served since 1991 in LeClaire. He will now be returning to a firefighter role, and is most excited to work with his son, who recently joined the department, Bleeker said.
If you are interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter in LeClaire, you can reach out to the department on its Facebook page. You can also email Chief Bleeker at sbleeker@leclaireiowa.gov. The department also hosts trainings on Tuesday nights at 6 p.m. at the fire station, and Bleeker said anyone interested in joining the department is welcome at those trainings.