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Volunteer fire companies and county firefighters press for larger budget share and capital support
Summary
Volunteer and professional fire representatives urged Baltimore County to increase operating and capital funding for fire and EMS services, citing rising call volumes, aging apparatus and a $2 million replacement ladder truck needed by Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company.
Volunteer leaders and county firefighters used the District 2 town hall to press the county for more funding for fire and emergency medical services and capital support for volunteer companies.
Why it matters: Speakers said volunteers provide essential capacity for Baltimore County's large jurisdiction and that funding shortfalls for training, apparatus and EMS operations threaten service levels.
Kathleen Resnick, president of the Pikesville Volunteer Fire Company, said volunteers save the county more than $60 million annually but that the county's fire department operating appropriation lags neighboring jurisdictions. "Public safety should be at the top of the list of appropriations and not eighth," Resnick said, and she asked the county to correct "significant deficiencies" in training facilities and capital support.
Resnick and other speakers described capital pressures: the Pikesville volunteer company needs to replace a 23-year-old tower ladder truck; the replacement cost has risen to about $2,000,000. Susan Bollinger, president of the Baltimore County Volunteer Firefighters Association, said the loan fund for apparatus has not received an added allocation in seven years even as apparatus costs have roughly doubled.
Professional firefighter representatives reiterated similar concerns. TJ Gagliano, third vice president of the Baltimore County Professional Firefighters Association (IAFF Local 1311), cited a third-party evaluation saying the fire department lacks sufficient fiscal, physical and human resources to meet national standards and county expectations.
On EMS, Bollinger said ambulance calls have increased roughly 23% in five years while EMS funding increased only about 6%, leaving the volunteer EMS operating budget below prior levels. "This system is brittle, and it needs to be fixed immediately," she said.
Speakers asked the county to increase both operating appropriations and capital support for volunteer apparatus and training facilities, and to revisit EMS funding and billing arrangements.
Ending: Officials at the town hall acknowledged the concerns and directed residents to submit further comments to the county's town-hall process; no formal county action was taken at the meeting.
