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County Considers Stipend Payments For Volunteer Firefighters
November 13, 2008
The Escambia Commission is expected to approved a new stipend payment policy for volunteer firefighters at their regular meeting next week.
The plan provides payments to volunteers to help offset their expenses such as fuel.
Under the plan, a Firefighter Trainee will receive $100 per month, if he or she has completed a 12 hour orientation course and obtains Firefighter I within one year of joining Escambia Fire-Rescue.
A certified Firefighter I or II will receive $300 per month. A certified lieutenant will receive $350 per month, and a captain will receive $400 per month. An assistant district chief’s stipend will be $450 per month, and a district chief will receive $550.
In order to receive the payments, a firefighter must meet qualifications for their position and respond to 25 percent of their department’s first 50 calls per month and 12.5% of all calls over 50 per month.
The policy also provides for a retention incentive during the firefighter’s anniversary year as follows:
5 years of service: $200
10 years of service: $400
15 years of service: $600
20 years of service: $900
25 years of service” $1,200
The stipend policy also allows payment of up to $500 per firefighter to extended services follow an extended disaster such as a hurricane.
Click here to read the entire volunteer firefighter stipend policy.
Comments
10 Responses to “County Considers Stipend Payments For Volunteer Firefighters”
First of all no one is trying to run anyone off !!! And it seems to me that the volunteers are the ones that have the problem with the paid firefighters . In the south end of the county they have 24/7 coverage .That is paid and volunteers working together ! All of which are certified ! What do we have on this end ? I’ll tell you ! We have a paid crew on Monday – Friday from 7am til 4 pm and after that you might get 3 to respond to a call ( in the Century area)! So do not say that 20 – 25 are better than the 4 ! Because you will never have that 20 -25 to respond to the same call ( Century area ) ! They do not even have 20 active members in the CVFD. My husband is one of those 4 that puts his life in danger to help every time he is called out ! No matter what or who he is there to help ! Unlike a volunteer when my husbands pager goes off he HAS to go . He is on call 24/7 . He has missed family dinners , our kids ballgames and many more family things . But that is his job and he loves it ! Don’t get me wrong volunteers do a great job and YES they should get something for there time with training and all that they have to do ! But do not down my husband and fellow firefighters just because they went the extra mile to make it there career !
What you mean they ( the good ol boys ) want to run off the volunteers and raise the fire tax ? You mean they will put paid guys in a volunteer station just to run off the volunteers ? You mean that 4 paid guys can do a better job than 20 to 25 certifed volunteers ? Just ask the powers that be with Escambia county ( little fdny ) fire rescue they can tell you all about it.
Ridiculous you may be right about our county being one of the most expensive stipend programs in the country,I don’t know if it is or not.
You may be right about volunteers being selfish, I am not sure. You could be right about our chiefs, I don’t think so.
I do know we are some of the best trained in the country. I have seen volunteers fight fire beside paid firefighters and you could not tell which was which. I am sure many volunteers buy food and drinks to bring to the station to have after a training, a wreck, or even a long fire. I know many that have bought personal tools and gear that can’t be used elsewhere. I am sure many put their stipend right back in the department in one way or the other. I think our chiefs are among the best, they were voted in by their department members.
Nobody mentions the insurance savings because of the volunteer dedication. Who thinks about the time a volunteer spends on calls and in training. Only our spouses and children miss us when we are volunteering. How do you put a price on just one of the lives we have saved?
A volunteer does not want kudos for what we do. We just Don’t want to be ridiculed.
I do know we will get better.
I am sure we will keep sharing.
I think our chiefs will keep leading.
Just to let you know, the chiefs aren’t the ones that came up with the stipend. The Firefighters’ Association did and it had to be approved by The Board of County Commissioners. I don’t know where you are from, but I know quite a few fire chiefs and I haven’t gotten the impression from any of them that they are out for themselves. The former chief at Walnut Hill, who was in that position for 15 years until his health forced him to retire, is a selfless, honorable man. I take great offense to anyone saying that a volunteer in any capacity is only “in it for themselves”. The word volunteer is the exact opposite of being in it for yourself. Regardless of the fact that these brave men and women receive a small stipend that is miniscule compared to what a paid firefighter doing the same thing receives, they are still volunteers. I hope the “Ridiculous” poster is never in need of the services offered by the local volunteer fire departments, but if you are, I can promise you the Firefighters and the Lieutenants, and the Captains, and the Deputy Chief, and the Chief will all be fighting your fire or administering medical aid to you or your loved one or ones with the same gusto. Regardless of their rank. Yep! The first thing I think of when I see a Fire Chief is how they are in it for themselves. What I really think of when I see any firefighter or police officer or soldier is how grateful I am to have them. I don’t spend my time trying to beat them down because they might get paid a little for their time and effort. Seeing how Escambia County teachers are the lowest paid in the state, I doubt our volunteer firefighters will have the highest stipend in the COUNTRY. Why don’t you try to spend the time you use degrading our volunteers volunteering yourself? What do you do for your city, county, state, or country that is “volunteer”?
Isn’t it the Chiefs that developed and approved the draft plan? No wonder they are getting such a big raise. In it for themselves, again. Do a google search and you’ll find this is one of the most expensive stipends in the whole country. What ever happened to the word “volunteer.”
Let’s start off by saying I can see where each person comes from with their posts. Now let’s state the facts.
Fact: each and every Escambia County firefighter now has a minimum of 160 hour FFI course, 16 hour EVOC, CPR, and Extrication. This does not include the additional training required by officers. Fact: officers have additional responsibilities that increase with rank. Fact: paperwork (call runs, pre-incident fire plans, hydrant information, personnel records, training records, etc.) has to be done. Station has to be cleaned. Trucks have to be serviced and checked. Equipment has to be tested. Fact: every fireman is required to “refresh” on most all of the above training hours annually or biannually. Fact: I have not even added the hours given during call runs. Fact: Volunteer firemen do not do it for money. A good number of them were already doing it before there was a stipend. Fact: the county is creating an incentive to not just get new, but to keep existing volunteers active in the fire service. Another fact that is sad is the number of people willing to do anything voluntarily is declining at a very rapid rate. It’s not just in the fire service. It is everywhere. Do you know of any other organized government that can employ civil service personnel for less than minimum wage?
To second what Shaun said, try to pay paid firefighters what the almost unpaid professionals (volunteers) are being paid and see what happens. They would run the same calls, but get paid a heck of a lot more and have benefits.
The volunteer firefighters in this area and I assume in most other areas of the county don’t really live that far from the station that they serve with. I know our Chief only lives 4 minutes from our station. But, yes I think they should all get paid for what they do and the hours that they put in training and working calls. It is only fair and right that these guys get something for what they do. They leave their families to help and protect ours at anytime they are needed. Doesn’t matter if it is freezing cold or blazing hot they go when they are called to go. Chuck I think you are doing a wonderful thing with your dogs and I am glad to see that you can afford to do that. Most of the volunteer firefighters I know really couldn’t afford to do that in their community. I have seen some of them get out of bed at 2 in the morning with only a few hours sleep and work a call then come home and go to work and work all day without complaining. These people deserve what they get paid for the things they do for the communities. I am to old to do that kind of stuff anymore but, I did when I was young and we didn’t get paid. I think we should have back then and I think these guys are getting very little for what they do. God Bless all you fine young men that put your lives in danger for mine and my family. PAW PAW Loves you Boys D,D,&K
Carl, I have to agree with your comments. I have always said that the stipend ladder is upside down. Persons driving their own cars should get money to offset their costs. If you are supplied a car ,you dont need gas money. Volunteers should do what they do for the love of their neighborhood and not for an ” appreciation fee” as someone put it. My wife and I have nationally certified search and rescue dogs which we utilize with a local volunteer agency, we have put literally thousands of dollars into the training and upkeep of these dogs and we dont expect a dime when we go out at two in the morning looking for an alzheimers patient that has wandered away. It is the look on the son or daughters face that is our pay when we have dad or mom home.
Carl as far as I know the only Volunteers that drive a county owned vehicle are Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs. And the stipend is not only to pay for gas for the ones driving their own, its just a way to show appreciation to the ones that work a full time job yet get up all hours of the night to help the communities, and that pertains to ALL volunteers that respond to the 25% of calls. Now if there were no volunteers and the county had to hire full time personnel, which I might add they are trying to do, you can rest assured that our fire tax will increase tremendously.
This sounds great for the volunteers that are driving their own vehicle when a call comes in. But why are the chiefs and captains that are already driving a tax payer paid vehicle getting the stipend? Also where is the money going to come from? Not by raising the fire tax I hope.