Public Safety Boss: Additional Training Won’t Be Required Of Volunteer Firefighters

January 27, 2015

Concerns that Escambia County volunteer firefighters will be required to have a higher level of training to remain in service, and that the requirement could leave some fire stations with no volunteers, simply are not true, Escambia County Public Safety Director Mike Weaver said Monday afternoon.

Escambia County volunteer firefighters are currently required to have “Firefighter I” certification, while in some instances paid, or employee, firefighters in Florida are required to have nearly 200 additional hours of training to be “Firefighter II” certified. Most Escambia County volunteer fire stations have few, if any, volunteers that are Firefighter II certified.

Volunteer firefighters in Escambia County receive a stipend for their service, ranging from $300 to $550 per month, and the IRS recently determined that they are employees and that taxes should be withheld from their checks. That “employee status” has lead many volunteers to believe that a Firefighter II certification would be required.

“In my opinion there is nothing to be concerned with. Regardless of the term ‘employee’ from the IRS, Florida statutes state that a volunteer firefighter being paid a nominal fee as defined by the FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) only needs a Firefighter I. Our stipend program meets the definition of nominal fee,” Weaver said.

County leaders, including the county attorney, are continuing to work to make sure that volunteer firefighters are able to continue as usual as much as possible following the IRS audit, under direction from the Escambia County Commission. In the meantime, about a few volunteers that work in regular paid position with Escambia County in fire or EMS services remain unable to volunteer due to concerns about potential tax and overtime issues.

NorthEscambia.com file photo.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News