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Career and volunteer fire representatives tell county officials funding for apparatus and ambulances is insufficient
Summary
Multiple career and volunteer fire officials, including the presidents of the Baltimore County Professional Firefighters Association and the Volunteer Firefighters Association, described years-long underfunding of apparatus replacement and EMS units and urged the county to increase capital and operating support.
Representatives of career and volunteer fire and EMS organizations told County Executive Kathy Klausmeier and County Council staff that Baltimore County's fire and EMS services need significantly more operating and capital funding.
Steve Redmer, president of the Baltimore County Professional Firefighters Association, told the town hall that a 2021 independent review found the county fire department’s operating budget is “significantly less by any measure than its neighboring fire and EMS departments.” He said call volumes have more than doubled in his 24-year career while funding and staffed ambulances have not kept pace.
Susan Bollinger, president of the Baltimore County Volunteer Firefighters Association, also urged additional funding. Bollinger said the volunteer association’s budget increased 14% in five years while inflation rose 23% and EMS calls are up 36%, but EMS funding increased only 6% over that period. She said capital needs are acute: several engines and trucks are beyond extended life and replacing six engines and two trucks would cost about $10 million at current prices. Bollinger said the county has allocated $1 million this year to the ambulance replacement fund, which she said would not cover two units and that sustaining a replacement pace of four units per year would require about $2.1 million annually.
Don Schnekenberg, president of the Lansdowne Volunteer Fire Department, described facility limitations for housing ambulances and apparatus at the existing station, and said his department has owned three acres for a new station site for 36 years and needs capital funding for a modern facility in the Riverview community.
David Hamwell, president of another volunteer company, and other volunteer leaders at the meeting urged parity in support for both career and volunteer companies and stressed coordination with the fire chief.
County staff and the county executive heard multiple requests for increased capital support for apparatus replacement, ambulance units, station construction and funding to meet response needs in higher-call areas. No formal county funding decision was made at the town hall; the requests were submitted as public priorities for consideration during budget development.
Quotes in this article are drawn from public remarks made at the county town hall and attributed to named speakers present at the event.
