Five new firefighter-paramedics were welcomed in the Saskatoon Fire Department family Friday.

The five new recruits have already been assigned to different fire halls across the city and will fill positions that were left vacant by those who have retired.

Fire Chief, Morgan Hackl says new firefighters come from different backgrounds.

“Many of them bring different education and experiences in terms of having university degrees or trades experience. All those things are really important in our work place.”

The fire chief says their service model today is set up so that they are responding well to what’s in front of them in regards to medical calls and fire calls.

Hackl does note that the city has grown and that they are challenged at times given that their staff are busy in the field with emergency response calls. The fire chief adds data for the number of calls and the number of firefighters in the city are closely being reviewed at this time.

Many of the recruits received their firefighting training in Vermillion, Alberta and Brandon, Manitoba.