Glen Waleska fire and rescue training
Instructor Glen Waleska demonstrates a rescue method during a training class.
Local volunteers vs. paid firefighters, EMTs
County officials want to develop a long-term strategy for integrating paid, part-time firefighters and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) with local volunteer fire and rescue companies.
Why it matters
As Rappahannock’s population ages, so do volunteers who answer emergency calls. That has placed a heavier burden on “active” volunteers – those who handle at least 10% of the calls – and there are fewer and fewer of them willing or able to respond on a regular basis. While an all-volunteer emergency system probably is no longer realistic, it’s not clear how it evolves into a hybrid paid/volunteer operation.
Background
The county has already taken steps toward a blended solution. It has hired 12 paid EMTs on a part-time basis to operate a “chase vehicle” that also answers calls, ensuring 24/7 coverage by responders with Advanced Life Support training. It also has a cost-sharing arrangement with Warren County to cover the part-time cost of two career EMTs at the Chester Gap station. Finally, the county is providing 80% of the funding to pay two career paramedics for three days a week at Sperryville Volunteer Rescue. The county has allocated $523,880 this fiscal year to cover all three arrangements.
The Sperryville arrangement could be a model for hybrid setups at other volunteer companies, but that’s hardly a sure thing. Some long-time volunteer responders, such as Amissville Volunteer Fire and Rescue Chief J.B. Carter, have expressed concerns that relying increasingly on paid EMTs could diminish the role and motivation of volunteers, not to mention increase costs. But Darren Stevens, the county’s Emergency Services Coordinator, thinks the right mix could actually prolong the service of active volunteers by giving them more breaks. Otherwise, the more highly trained volunteers can feel they’re always on call.
What to expect
Finding a workable balance of volunteer and paid responders is tricky. With a dwindling supply of the former, county officials have turned to the latter to help fill gaps in coverage. At the same time, some volunteer fire and rescue veterans see an influx of paid career EMTs as a threat to their independence, and potentially to the connections their companies have with their communities.
Those different perspectives will likely set the tone for an upcoming, still unscheduled public hearing moderated by a representative of The Clearing, a consulting firm hired by the county to help it map an emergency services strategy.
“There’s a lot of wisdom within our fire and rescue community,” said County Administrator Garrey Curry. “We have to figure out how to work together to plan a path forward, and then start taking it.”
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