The St. Joseph Fire Department recently gained three new members.

The department welcomed firefighters Cory Molitor, Mike Folkerts and Ronald Schmidt. The pay-per-response firefighters replace retirees Jeff Karnik, Bill Wasner and Brian Orcutt.

Wasner served in the department for 50 years and even held the post of assistant chief in 1981. Karnik and Orcutt each served for 22 years. The retirees served a combined total of 94 years of service with the St. Joseph Fire Department.

There are 30 members of the volunteer department. St. Joseph City Council member Renee Symanietz said she was happy to hear three more people answered the call to volunteer.

“I think it’s great three firefighters stepped up,” Symanietz said. “I appreciate that.”

The St. Joseph City Council unanimously approved the hiring of the three new members Feb. 2.