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Virgin Islands Fire and EMS tells legislature staffing, fleet and FEMA rebuilding remain constrained as billing work begins
Summary
Director Antonio Stevens told the Legislature—s committee that VIFEMS employs 291 people and has added ambulances and other equipment but still lacks sufficient paramedics and faces multi-year FEMA delays on station rebuilds; the agency expects to start electronic ambulance billing soon and projects $2.5M—$3M in annual collections.
Antonio Stevens, director of the Virgin Islands Fire and Emergency Medical Service, told the Legislature—s Committee on Homeland Security, Justice and Public Safety on Feb. 13 that the agency has expanded its emergency response capacity but still faces deep staffing and facility gaps.
"BIFEMS currently employs 291 personnel," Stevens said in opening testimony, while outlining continuing shortages in suppression and paramedic staffing. He told senators the agency has increased its EMT ranks since integration, and "we recently resulted in 2 new paramedic hires on the island of Saint Croix," but said the territory still needs more paramedics to meet ideal staffing levels.
The committee heard details on equipment and facilities: Stevens said Marine 1 entered service in 2025 and that seven new ambulances were commissioned in early 2026, distributed across St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John. He said a construction manager-at-risk has been selected for a territorial bundle of fire-station projects funded through FEMA but that the federal process has…
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