LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – At a time when recruiting and retaining first responders has become incredibly competitive, Lake County has implemented a 24-hour-on, 72-hours-off schedule for paramedics and EMTs to help recruit and retain more first responders.

Jason Graham, president of the Lake County Fire Union, said the change has already had an immediate effect on staffing.

“Over the course of three months, we filled every single vacant position, and those positions sat vacant for over three years, almost,” Graham said.

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Graham said the agency has more than 70 applications for both EMT and paramedic positions.

“It is solely because of this new schedule that we have seen this uptick in applications and people that want to come and work here,” Graham sa

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