The Bainbridge Island Fire Department has extended job offers to four new firefighters, including three who will eventually be used to bump up staffing at the department’s north end station on Phelps Road.

Bainbridge Island Fire Chief Hank Teran said Wednesday that the department made conditional job offers to the four — which include three new hires that were authorized by the board of commissioners late last year, and one firefighter who will fill an existing vacancy — after interviews were completed.

The department is still conducting background checks, he said.

The new employees are expected to start work Tuesday, Jan. 20.

Two of the new hires are off-island firefighters, Teran said, “and two happened to be volunteers who are now going to be changing to career firefighters.”

The firefighters will be sent to the Washington State Fire Training Academy in North Bend to refresh and hone their skills, Teran said, in a 12-week program where they will be supervised by an officer from the Bainbridge department.

“They will be returning back for additional training and they will hit the stations in May,” Teran said.

Teran said the Bainbridge department had good timing in getting the firefighters enrolled at the academy, and all will be in the same class. A new class was being enrolled for the Jan. 22 course soon after Bainbridge commissioners gave the chief the OK to hire three new firefighters.

“The timing was really advantageous for us,” Teran said.

The fire department is hoping to have funding in the near future to hire even more firefighters and EMTs.

Fire commissioners have placed a ballot measure on the Feb. 10 Special Election ballot that would increase the property tax levy by 9 cents to pay for service improvements.

If approved by voters, the property tax levy rate (currently 86 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation) would rise to 95 cents in 2015.

The levy increase amounts to a $45 increase per year for the owner of a $500,000 home.