Melbourne Beach fire chief urges shift to hybrid (paid+volunteer) model to guarantee faster emergency response

Melbourne Beach — Fire Chief Gavin Brown told the Town Commission at a Feb. 5 workshop that the town’s mostly volunteer fire department can no longer guarantee the fast on-scene response residents expect and deserves, and he proposed moving to a combination staffing model that would add paid firefighters to supplement volunteers.

Brown and department leaders presented the case, saying the department remains well trained (an ISO Class 3 rating) and heavily community‑based, but that national and local changes — faster-burning modern fires, fewer residents available to volunteer, and the loss of a reciprocal automatic‑aid agreement — mean the current volunteer model cannot reliably deliver a five-minute guaranteed response.

The presentation outlined the size and capabilities of the Melbourne Beach Volunteer Fire Department and the problems the town faces. Brown said the town’s department currently includes about 35 volunteers (roughly 20–21 state‑certified firefighters), about seven EMTs/paramedics, 10 state‑certified fire instructors, two fire inspectors, one master safety officer and two qualified state strike‑team leaders. He described a long training load for volunteers — roughly 100 hours per year of ongoing training after initial certification — and noted that recruiting and retaining supervisors has become especially difficult.

Brown told commissioners that the most immediate local cause of the staffing crisis was the cancellation last August of an automatic aid/response agreement with a neighboring paid department that had been providing guaranteed, rapid first response into Melbourne Beach. "The new leadership in that department believe that the partnership is not actionable," he said, adding that without that mutual support the town no longer has the guaranteed quick response that allowed the department to remain volunteer-led in prior years.

As a practical alternative, Brown proposed a "combination" model that keeps volunteers but supplements them with a small number of paid firefighters assigned to the Melbourne Beach station 24/7. He described two staffing options under study: a minimum skeleton crew of six paid firefighters (two on duty per 24‑hour shift, rotating) or an expanded set of six to eight paid staff using a 24‑on/72‑off schedule to reduce overtime costs. Brown said the minimum six‑person model is the least expensive way to provide a consistent on‑site supervisor and guaranteed rapid initial response.

Brown also emphasized medical service changes if the town adopts paid staffing: currently Brevard County provides ambulance transport and advanced life support across the area. Brown said Melbourne Beach currently runs about 150 calls per year; if the department began running medical responses, he estimated call volume could rise above 800 annually. He said the change would allow the department to respond faster to medical incidents and to pursue community‑based programs such as community paramedicine that aim to reduce emergency transports and follow up on at‑risk residents.

Commissioners asked for data and clarifications. Commissioner Tim Reed asked for comparative figures and historical trends: "So, like, let's say 2019, what the budget was, what the number of volunteers were, and what the number of responses were that we dealt with versus what that looks like today," he said. Commissioners and staff discussed costs of outsourcing services to Brevard County and the town’s inability under current county rules to operate its own ambulance transport even if it wished to do so.

Brown said the department will prepare a more detailed cost package and funding options, including preparing to apply for FEMA’s SAFER grant to fund salaries for the first three years if awarded. He warned that federal grant schedules can be volatile and that grant timelines would affect when paid positions could be hired.

Town Manager Elizabeth Mascara confirmed staff will gather written data, cost estimates and the county quote on outsourced services. Commissioners agreed to schedule a follow‑up workshop on the topic in April to review hard dollar figures, grant prospects and the county/neighboring department quotes.

What’s next: staff will provide commissioners with historical call and budget data, quotes from Brevard County and nearby paid departments, and draft cost scenarios for the two staffing options; the commission set an April workshop to review the figures and consider next steps.

Ending: No formal motion or vote was recorded at the Feb. 5 workshop. The department remains volunteer‑led while staff compiles costs, grant prospects and outside quotes for the commission’s April review.