Timely hiring helps prevent disaster Published May 3, 2012 By Erin Tindell Air Force Personnel, Services and Manpower Public Affairs JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO - RANDOLPH, Texas -- In February, a group of civilian firefighters from Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Ohio, responded to a local emergency when a gasoline tanker truck rolled over on the highway spilling thousands of gallons of fuel. Had the incident occurred a few months earlier, they might not have been involved at all. A few months before the truck crashed, Youngstown had a shortage of firefighters. Sometimes civilian positions at reserve installations may be hard to fill because of their location, said Richard "Rick" Zapata, an Air Force Personnel Center human resource specialist who helps fill Youngstown's civilian vacancies. Zapata is part of AFPC's civilian force integration directorate, an organization that processes more than 100,000 Air Force-wide requests for personnel actions annually. HR specialists within the directorate stay in constant communication with civilian personnel sections Air Force-wide, ensuring the right employee is put in the right location at the right time. "Youngstown let us know they were shorthanded on firefighter positions, so we worked to post announcements that would quickly fill the shortages with as highly-qualified employees as possible," he said. AFPC's hiring section for reserve installations was able to fill the vacancies in 40 to 50 days, which is well below the current initiative to hire federal civilians within 80 days. Having enough properly trained firefighters available to respond to the hazardous materials emergency helped prevent a possible disaster within the local community. Additionally, the Youngstown fire department provided the only on-scene vehicle capable of dispensing a special foam that minimized the risk of combustion from the spilled fuel. Youngstown civilian officials said because of AFPC's efforts to fill the shortage, enough firefighters were hired in a timely manner to cover two shifts and to help cut down on mandatory overtime that would be required to make up for the vacancies. "Rick has always been very customer oriented and has made great strides in getting our positions filled within the 80 day time limits," said Nancy McCarthy, a Youngstown HR specialist Zapata worked closely with to fill the vacancies. "Because of his hard work we have been able to maintain the required number of firefighters on shift. Therefore, they were able to assist in a local hazardous waste cleanup in our local area." Zapata said he often doesn't learn about the impact of his job in filling vacancies and was happy to find out about the firefighters. "We know organizations are short-handed and may have to work extended hours, especially during emergencies," he said. "I'm glad they were able to meet the needs of the local community and did so while being able to go home to their families." For more information about civilian self-service initiatives, visit AFPERS at https://gum-crm.csd.disa.mil. For more information on Air Force civilian careers, visit www.afciviliancareers.com.