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Volunteer fire companies seek capital funding; Bowleys Quarters warns facility struggles could force career conversion
Summary
Volunteer fire companies and career firefighters urged Baltimore County to fund new stations and capital maintenance, saying failing facilities and rising costs could lead to expensive career staffing if volunteer capacity erodes.
Representatives of Baltimore County volunteer fire companies and the professional firefighters association asked county leaders at a District 5 town hall to increase capital support for volunteer stations and to consider career marine firefighting assets.
Speakers warned that aging volunteer fire stations and equipment put services at risk. A public speaker representing Bowleys Quarters Volunteer Fire Department said the facility is “substandard” and volunteers provided more than 17,500 hours in 2024, saving an estimated $7,100,000 in career staffing costs; the commenter said failing the volunteer facility could force the county to open an expensive career station, with decade‑long career staffing costs estimated at tens of millions of dollars.
Robert Thomas, chief of staff for White Marsh Volunteer Fire Company, thanked the county for a second ambulance and requested county support for a spur and ramp from Maryland Route 7 to eastbound Route 43 to improve first‑responder access. He also asked the county to revisit stalled legislation on emergency medical service billing revenue sharing that could benefit volunteer ambulances.
TJ Gagliano, third vice president of the Baltimore County Professional Firefighters Association (IAFF Local 1311), urged investment in career marine firefighting and water‑rescue assets, saying Baltimore County has 232 miles of shoreline and expanding commercial traffic requires staffed marine capabilities. Gagliano referenced the March 26, 2024 bridge collapse response as an example of a local marine response gap.
Speakers representing the Baltimore County Volunteer Firefighters Association emphasized deferred station maintenance — leaking roofs, broken bay doors, aging apparatus — and urged increased capital funding to avoid service declines. Officials in the room said federal and state funding requests are under way for some projects.
Ending: Volunteer and career firefighters said they will press for capital funding and legislative fixes during the FY26 budget process and highlighted specific infrastructure projects they consider high priority for eastern Baltimore County.
