Fire chiefs tell commissioners volunteers may be uninsured when assisting EMTs with heavy patients; board to follow up

County fire chiefs raised concerns that volunteer firefighters are frequently being called to assist emergency medical technicians with lifting heavy patients but that volunteers’ insurance may not cover injuries incurred during those lift assists.

An update relayed by a board member (Speaker 3) said chiefs "are very concerned" about the practice and noted two problems: volunteers’ limited insurance coverage for non-fire responses, and growing call frequency that is making recruitment more difficult. "Basically, the chief's concern is they have a little insurance policy on their volunteers. But when they're called out to do lift assist for the EMTs... that insurance would not cover them should somebody get hurt," the speaker summarized (SEG 381–401).

Commissioners discussed the operational and training context; one member noted that lifting heavy patients had been part of training in the past and provided an anecdote about lifting 300–350 pounds during training (Speaker 3). Board members asked staff to coordinate with emergency services leadership (Speaker 3 suggested working with 'David' in county administration) to clarify insurance coverage, training standards and staffing solutions. No formal motion or policy change was adopted during the meeting.

What happens next: Staff were asked to follow up with county emergency management and relevant insurers to clarify coverage and to explore options to reduce reliance on volunteers for non-fire emergency lifts, and to report back to the board.