Wylie Fire Station No. 2 was presented with the Life Save Award at the Tuesday, April 9 regular council meeting for saving the life of a man experiencing cardiac arrest who only had a 9% chance of survival.  Jeremy Hallock/The Wylie News

During a work session at last week’s regular council meeting, Fire Chief Brandon Blythe presented an overview and five-year plan for Wylie Fire Rescue. 

The department has five divisions. Administrative handles policy and finance. Operations includes fire and rescue response and EMS, which is moving inhouse beginning Oct. 1. Communications includes dispatch, Community Risk Reduction covers fire prevention and life safety education and Emergency Management oversees special events, disaster planning and community warning. 

The department currently has 98.5 positions—the half of an employee represents a part time inspector who works over the summer—and the average tenure is seven and a half years of service. Current minimum staffing is 25 personnel per day. Due to retirements and the new EMS division, a recruitment effort has been a priority and the department made 24 new hires in the last 16 months. 

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