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Wrightsville Beach
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Firefighter, police hires increase departments to full staff

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After nearly one year of being understaffed, the Wrightsville Beach Police Department became fully staffed last week when two new officers were sworn onto the force. Accordingly, the Wrightsville Beach Fire Department also added a new member to its crew from the town’s lifeguard squad, giving the town’s emergency response service new and experienced personnel as it rolls into its busiest weekend of the year.

Wrightsville Beach Police Chief Dan House said the new additions bring the force to its budgeted force of 25 officers. While officers Alexander Melgar and Andrew Terry are now members of the police department, their training isn’t yet over, House said.

“There’s another 16 weeks of field training, plus they need to learn our civil citation system, so there’s a lot more still involved,” House said. “But at the moment, we are completely staffed.”

House said the new additions are helping improve the morale of the department that was stressed by staffing shortages last year.

“There’s a lot of new faces here,” House said. “There’s a positive, energetic atmosphere in the police department right now. It’s fantastic, things are going very well.”

Sam Proffitt started his new role as firefighter June 7. He filled a vacancy that opened earlier this year. Fire chief Glen Rogers said he was chosen because of his experience working as both a Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue member and a volunteer lifeguard.

Proffitt, who is also a paramedic, started working for Wrightsville Beach Ocean Rescue in 2000. Since then, he’s completed two master’s degrees and worked part-time as a volunteer firefighter for the town. He also recently bought a house on the island, which he said is beneficial because he can respond quickly to incidents, if needed, even if he’s not on duty.

For those reasons, Proffitt believes the transition into his new role will be seamless.

“I’m already familiar with the way things are here in the department,” he said. “But equally importantly, the department was familiar with me as well, and they felt I would be a good fit.”

Proffitt will continue working ocean rescue shifts on his days off from firefighting. Many of the other lifeguards also double as firefighters or paramedics, he said, because they are in the same department and perform many of the same functions.

Proffitt joked that one of the most significant adjustments he has had to make transitioning from lifeguarding to firefighting has been wearing real clothes to work.

“It’s hard to get used to,” he said, laughing. “You’ve got to wear your shirt in the station.”

But, Proffitt added, he is thoroughly enjoying his new role so far and he’s excited to work full time in the Wrightsville Beach community.

“Fire service is the best job in the world,” he said. “I love coming to work every day.”

Staff writer Terry Lane contributed to this report.

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