Fire-rescue volunteers say they’re overlooked

By Uriah A. Kiser

Published: May 14, 2008

STAFFORD — Nearly 100 Stafford volunteer firefighters from across the county came to a town hall meeting Monday night to fight for their identities, a retirement system and voice their concerns about the future of their department, which they say has forgotten them.

The volunteers demanded the much-debated Length of Service Awards Program, a form of retirement compensation paid by the county to volunteer firefighters with more than five years of service.

Under the LOSAP plan, volunteers who reach the age of 65 would receive a monthly stipend based upon the number of years they served the county.
A volunteer would get $10 per month for every year of service, with an option to buy back a volunteer’s first five years of service. 

“The money for this was in the ‘08 budget and they should have had this by now,” said Stafford County Supervisor Paul Milde, R-Aquia.

Milde said $350,000 was set aside last year in the Stafford County Fire and EMS budget for LOSAP, but when the local economy took a downturn, LOSAP was the first program to be cut.

“If the fight has already been fought for LOSAP, I think we should get it,” said John McDonald, a volunteer firefighter who moderated the meeting.

Many volunteers took issue with Fire Chief Rob Brown, who they say has recently shifted the focus of the department to career-only officers. They claim Brown has spent too much of the budget on purchasing new chief’s vehicles and unnecessary equipment for career officers of the county fire department.

“I don’t think that [Rob Brown] really cares about the volunteers,” said Tim Carlson, a Stafford County volunteer firefighter.

Chief Brown could not be reached for comment.

Some volunteers also say their numbers are decreasing due to a complicated background check that has accounted for lost time and paperwork.

“It’s embarrassing to come in and see how asinine and disorganized the county is,” said Carlson.

One firefighter who spoke said there were more than 100 volunteer applications awaiting review. But they say the applicants get frustrated with the slow application process and go and volunteer in adjacent counties.

“These volunteers save the county $10 to 13.5 million per year and they’re leaving,” said Milde.

The firefighters say they are no longer allowed to do any recruiting on their own, but must submit a request to the county for a Virginia Beach firm to do so.

“The only way to get volunteers is to have a chief who wants volunteers,” said Patty Smith, volunteer chief at the Aquia Fire Station.

Members of Falmouth Fire Company, the oldest in the county, said they have been stripped of their identity. They say the county now requires them to display

Stafford County’s logo on their rigs, and that they must remove the word Falmouth from their fire-truck doors.

Stafford Supervisor Joe Brito, I-Hartwood, told the volunteer firefighters that they should not fear retaliation from any chief in the department, and if they did, he wanted to know about it.

A resident who spoke near the end of the meeting told the volunteers that change is coming, and to put aside their debates and do their jobs.

“I was out in my front yard and saw my neighbor’s house on fire, and being an old volunteer myself, I was rooting for you all to get the fire out, but then a fist fight broke out over who was in charge,” said Mike Griffen, who lives in Hampton Oaks.

Griffen said it looked like a Memorial Day parade the day of the blaze, but no one showed up that day to fight the fire, as the house burned to the ground.