Volunteers fighting fires, finances
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Firefighters
Firefighters
Vasha Hunt | Opelika-Auburn News
Pete Idsall, president of the Lee County Volunteer firefighters Association and Farmville Volunteer Fire chief, talks about issues facing the volunteer departments.
Staff Writer
Published: July 11, 2009
Members of the Lee County Volunteer Firefighters Association have spent more than two years wondering when to ask county residents about paying more for fire services.
Their first attempt was voted down in November 2006. It would have raised the fee for county residents to $45 annually — $20 more than the current amount — and then $3 more a year for the next 10 years.
A high voter turnout was expected for the 2008 general election, but association members opted to bypass that chance because of the slumping national economy.
Now, each department is struggling
financially.
Pete Idsall, association president and Farmville Volunteer Fire chief, said any increase in the fire fee may seem too much considering the current economy, but then again, it could actually save people money.
If Lee County’s volunteer fire departments had more money, Idsall said they could pay for more and better equipment and more specialized training for volunteers. That would enable them to respond to calls more quickly and more effectively, which could lower their Insurance Services Office (ISO) ratings. That would ultimately reduce homeowners’ insurance costs.
Idsall said improving the ISO rating from a 9 to a 7 could result in a $300 to $400 annual savings for a household. Considering that, he said, a $45 annual fire fee would be a minimal investment.
A number of factors are considered in determining an ISO rating. Southwest Volunteer Fire chief John Hoar said they can influence some factors with their limited funding, but a house’s proximity to a station and fire hydrants are beyond their control.
Angie Curran, deputy chief for Friendship Firefighters Association, said the Insurance Services Office said Friendship needs to have 13 class A pumper trucks, a ladder truck and seven stations to “adequately” cover its area. She said the department has five stations and five class A pumper trucks, resulting in an ISO rating of 7/9.
The7/9 rating means the 7 rating applies to people who live within five miles of one of the stations and are within 1,000 feet of a fire hydrant; all others have a class 9 rating.
Hoar said Southwest has two stations, but “fire hydrants, for us, are a luxury. We always go to calls assuming we won’t have one.”
Farmville volunteers were in a similar position until recently, when the number of hydrants increased as new housing developments were constructed in the area, Idsall said.
Lee-Chambers Volunteer Fire Department has the best reported ISO rating among the seven Lee County volunteer departments with a 6. With higher budgets, full-time staff and more equipment, Idsall and Hoar weren’t surprised to learn the ISO rating for the Auburn Fire Division is 3/9 and the Opelika Fire Department is 2.
If the county association doesn’t try to increase the fire fee again, Idsall said it will have to consider alternative ways to generate revenue for each department.
“We have to grow,” he said. “We have to change the way we do things.”
Lee County’s seven volunteer fire departments cover approximately 500 square miles. Six are funded by the $25 fire fee collected from each household in its district. The amount has not changed since it was first imposed in 1989. Lee-Chambers is the only department to receive funding from the county water authority, Idsall said.
Those districts with more households collect more money, and yet it’s still not enough, fire officials say.
“The fire fee is enough to cover our costs as they are now, but we can’t make any improvements” said Curran.
With a growing population in Smiths Station and construction of a new high school, Curran said they will need another fire station and more equipment “to adequately provide services to the jurisdiction served.”
Friendship has five stations now, but no ladder truck, which she said costs more than $500,000.
Grants are available, but as Hoar said, applying often means competing against the other county volunteer departments, and having to make a 5 percent match can hamper an annual budget. He said his entire budget was drained the one year Southwest was awarded two grants.
“There’s a lot of things that depend on money, but we’ll get by,” Hoar said. “We’ll still get the job done.”
Idsall said Farmville doesn’t collect nearly enough money from residents to make a 5 percent match for a $300,000 to $400,000 grant to pay for what they really need — a new brush and tanker trunk. Instead, they apply for smaller grants where they can afford the match and add equipment to lesser trucks to fit their needs.
Even then, there’s no guarantee they will get the grant. Idsall said it can be hit-and-miss, but it’s a chance every department has to take.
“We’re always looking for money, for ways to be self-sufficient,” he said. “But bake sales and barbecues don’t cut it any more.”
SAMPLE COSTS FOR OUTFITTING A FIREFIGHTER
Cost estimates for firefighter cutout
Helmets — $176-400, includes specialty helmets, the lighter versions as well as the heavier classic versions.
Masks (Self Contained Breathing Apparatus including air bottle, mask, motion/heat sensor and frame; sometimes a voice amplifier.) — $3,850-$4,850.
Hose — $120-$550 depending on the size and length of the hose
Gear — $1,550-$2,250, includes turnout coat and pants, hood, extrication gloves, fire fighting gloves and flashlight.
Boots — $90-$360 (basic rubber versus leather)
Radio — $225-$575 each (Cost could jump to $3,550 each in order to communicate with Opelika which operates on a different trunking than the county and Auburn.
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Reader Reactions
Fire Instructor is on the right track, using the ISO numbers to claim that is why the fire departments want money is just an excuse.
New equipment to have and NO maintemance program to support it is like throwing money down the drain.
I do not think that the water departments will allow a 6” hydrant on anything less than a 6” water line.
Well Auburn does not have “inadequate” equipment, you can’t have that and be a class 3. But if you notice, anyone outside the 5 miles of a fire station in Auburns coverage is a Class 9, that is pretty high.
What that usually spells is problems with water supply, especially outside of the immediate city limits, not equipment. So it sounds like the problem for most departments in Lee County is the availbility of hydrants. Which is the problems for most rural departments in south alabama.
No one in any county can run a ladder truck without a 6” line supplying a hydrant, then a 5” line supplying the truck. Anything less will not supply enough water. Most ladder trucks can pump 1000 gallon per minute, so you have to have a hydrant within say 1000-1500 feet that will supply it, or you are wasting your time and money.
So the water supply problems are not the responsibility of the fire departments. The only thing they can do is either shuttle water with tankers and engines, or set up a shuttle operation with dump tanks. The latter is the only thing that ISO will accept for a rating.
Second, you have to have a big budget for maintainence, ladders are terribly expensive to maintain with non destructive and drift tests. You have to be trained to operate one, and in reality, you dont use them much. They are a tremendous headache.
ISO determines the need for a ladder by how many buildings/houses you have that are 3 stories or higher, or the number of commercial structures in a coverage area. That includes things like stores, churches, chicken houses, and the required fire flow for each.
ISO ratings kinda tip back and forth on a scale of pump capacity (the ability to pump water in gpm and the availibility of the water supply) If the scales tip one way or another, you get a poor rating. Got trucks and no water? Bad rating. Got water and no way to move it? Bad rating.
A lot of rural alabama counties have county or city water in the country. But a lot of those lines were put in years ago to get people off wells. It was for drinking water. As things have grown, the old lines that were 2” or 3” inch lines have not been upgraded to 6”. So you can put a 6” hydrant on a 3” line. Getting water systems to spend that kinda money to upgrade is one tough fight.
what many need to do is check with other counties nearby and see how the fire ratings compare, you are going to be surprised about it.
making comments about lack of equipment to‘adequately’ cover its area is jus tring to put the blame on one thing and not dealing with the rest of the situation.
jus using the “ISO” numbers may cause more problems than anyone wants.
maybe the county commission needs to create a committee to oversee all fire departments that are under the “county fire fee” and the info found – be available for all to see for themsleves, this way – the citizens will be able to know if the reports about having to have more money to operate or we wiil shutdown are valid.
With regard to: “Angie Curran, deputy chief for Friendship Firefighters Association, said the Insurance Services Office said Friendship needs to have 13 class A pumper trucks, a ladder truck and seven stations to ‘adequately’ cover its area.“
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A “ladder truck” to cover the sky scrapers in Smiths Station?
With regard to: “Angie Curran, deputy chief for Friendship Firefighters Association, said the Insurance Services Office said Friendship needs to have 13 class A pumper trucks, a ladder truck and seven stations to ‘adequately’ cover its area.“
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Does the City of Auburn have 13 Class A pumper trucks?
Does the City of Opelika have 13 Class A pumper trucks?
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In both cases the answer is no. So, how do they achieve their ratings with such inadequate equipment?
Have we heard from the Lee County Commissioners about their promise for funding the fire service in the county?
Maybe they are too busy off admiring the new palatial building they are erecting in Auburn? What the heck, it is only taxpayers $$$...
Well I can understand both sides of it, but you have to be practical of what you ask of “volunteers”
Responding with EMS does indeed help EMS, it cuts response times and can start life saving measures much quicker. Especially in areas where there is a long wait for EMS to arrive. So yes, volunteer first responders, EMT’s, and medics do indeed assist the paid EMS. In many counties EMS will not respond to lift assist or other minor events unless there is no one in the coverage to respond.
Believe me, I well understand the “American Way”. Its great to be nostalgic and then realize its not 1988 anymore. The populations are changing, the racial make ups, and the education levels. The same “american way” you speak of has also led to the major problems with liability and insurance coverage. Plus, just the fact the people are waiting for any reason to sue. That is the “current” American way. May not be what you or I want or need. But we have to play the hand we are dealt. And probably sadly, that part is not going to change.
“Just like their paid brothers and sisters, volunteers need “action” to stay interested in what they have been trained to do and to keep their skills sharpened…“
I agree, training and safety is where everything is headed. I don’t want a bunch of people who dont have enough to keep them interested. Everything in training and safety is being driven by liability. But the question was what can VFD’s do to cut costs?
You can’t bleed to death trying to help everyone else. You can’t run a business like that, and you can’t run a VFD like that. Unlike the federal government or GM, we have to pay our bills every month and live on a budget.
Some departments have bigger support than others, it will always be that way. You can’t equalize everything in a VFD coverage area like population, building construction, water availibility, business,and funding etc. But what in my opinion can be done is to increase your support in a county that is growing as fast or faster than most in Alabama. It starts by using tax money FIRST for basic services: schools, roads, law enforcement, fire, Then start adding all the other budget items people think are important.
So as the discussion was asked, in light of Lee County or any other, not giving proper support to their VFD’s, what action might they have to take to just stay afloat?
Start by making the legislature and county commission a “volunteer” job. See how many of them run for cover. After all, volunteering is the american way!
Many do not know that the fire districts that are under the fire fee collected thru the county are NOT ALLOWED to charge for fire related services, they can charge some things on car wrecks.
When each fire department started moving money around to raise the level of EMS statis on their own, they have caused their own money problems, and the Fire department end suffers .
The fire fee itself needs to be changed, not all in the county pay the fee, some are exempt . When mandatory collection is in place, their really is not much need to have to improve, - why – they still receive the money if all they do is play checkers all day.
Some fire departments do not have the community support, as that they will not change the way they operate and also will not change the people that have ruled them for many , many years
“fire instructor” posted some comments…In response (1) Responding with EMS is not helping EMS, it is people helping people…That is what “volunteerism” is all about, helping people…That is the American way, a way that is strange to most of the rest of the world, and (2) Just like their paid brothers and sisters, volunteers need “action” to stay interested in what they have been trained to do and to keep their skills sharpened…
This is reflective of the problems facing all volunteer departments in Alabama. Every year since 1980, the numbers of volunteers nationwide has been dropping. If people wont work for 7 bucks and hour, try getting young people to volunteer for free. VFD’ are fast reaching a crossroads of members, affording equipment and insurance, liability and training, fuel costs, gear and maintainence, and the ever increasing number of medical calls.
First step is for a county to adequately fund departments with property taxes. But since we cant even do that for the schools, the VFD are not going to get that support. 25 bucks a year is pitiful and was not a lot of money 35 years ago, much less 20 or now.
My suggestion is that all departments stop running EMS if the residents or counties will not fund it. Ambulance companies can bill for their services, so let them have it. That alone would cut the number of runs for a given department 60-80%. Now departments might choose to bill, but then you have to follow HIPA, and get into other privacy and medical issues.
Fire districts require a response. So that does not work without paid on call firefighters. Volunteers are not required to respond even if you pay your fire dues. Most VFD charters say “will respond if the manpower and equipment are available”
I understand that Friendship needs 13 pumpers, but no VFD in Alabama has the manpower to run it. In reality how many front line structure fires are they fighting? Probably a lot less than 10-15 years ago. Everyone is fighting less fire and running more meds.
In the next 5 years, more departments will be forced to merge to save money and increase manpower. That combined with mandatory support by residents, might keep the rural fire service from having to federalize to maintain coverages. Remember volunteers account for 70% of the fire coverage in the state of Alabama.
Asking people who freely give of their time, family, and effort year after year to do more and more with less and less is just plain wrong.
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