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Supervisors flag volunteer fire/rescue equipment, ownership and cross‑border mutual aid costs
Summary
Supervisors discussed a large volunteer‑equipment list and concerns about ownership, insurance and liability; a supervisor said roughly 50% of some volunteer calls were crossing into West Virginia, and staff was asked to bring research to the board and public‑safety committee for study. No appropriation was made.
Frederick County supervisors returned to questions about funding and ownership of volunteer fire and rescue equipment during the Feb. 2 budget work session, saying the issue merits further study before committing large sums.
Board members and staff recalled a previously assembled equipment list and said the logistics—ownership, insurance, reimbursement and whether equipment counted as county capital—remain unresolved. One supervisor urged caution, saying, “If this is a true liability... I'm not in favor of taking something out of the budget that if we've got potentially, if somebody's house is burning down and we can't get a tanker to it because we don't have a tanker.”
Another supervisor noted a mutual‑aid pattern raised at a recent volunteer meeting: “50% of their calls … are going into West Virginia,” creating significant expense for county responders. Staff said research and prior committee work exist and offered to bring data back to the board; supervisors suggested the public‑safety committee examine ownership and reimbursement models and to avoid piecemeal purchases that could create long‑term problems.
The board directed staff to bring the research to the public‑safety committee (meeting planned Feb. 12) and indicated any large procurement should be informed by committee recommendations. No formal motion or vote to fund equipment purchases was recorded in the transcript.
Next steps: staff will provide existing research and data on cross‑border call volumes and bring the item to the public‑safety committee for deliberation prior to any budget appropriation decision.
