Directed by the County Council to crack down on take-home cars, Montgomery Fire and Rescue Service Chief Richard Bowers tried earlier this year to restrict vehicle use by volunteer firefighters.
But his efforts, prompted by concerns that many agencies had been lax in managing their fleets, went nowhere.
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A county board that oversees fire-rescue policy vetoed the chief’s proposed changes and, in the process, set off another debate about the role volunteer firefighters should have in a county of almost a million people.
The volunteers say the Fire and Emergency Services Commission preserves their vital role in providing fire protection in a county too large and too spread out to be safeguarded by only salaried firefighters. But some county legislators view the commission as an impediment to putting fire-rescue resources to best use.
On Tuesday, Council members Marc Elrich (D-At Large) and George L. Leventhal (D-At Large) will propose legislation that would take away the veto power of the commission, which has volunteer, union and civilian members.
The bill is the latest salvo in the struggle over how volunteers fit in local communities that were once once largely rural but now are mostly suburban and even becoming urban.
Montgomery County is not alone in grappling with the issue. Next door, Prince George’s County is considering changes, too.
On Tuesday, County Executive Rushern L. Baker III (D) will present the Prince George’s County Council with two bills to remake the county’s fire commission and strip it of supervisory and budgeting powers.
In both counties, the volunteers oppose the bills.
“The commission is the last bastion of participation for the community and the volunteers,” said Eric N. Bernard, executive director of the Montgomery County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association.
The president of the Prince George’s volunteer group, Bill Smith, called Baker’s move a “betrayal” of promises the county executive made before and after coming into office last year. “The county executive is going to these measures without including us in the decision-making, asking our opinion or bringing us to the table,” Smith said.
Rise of salaried firefighters
Decades ago, volunteers took all the fire calls in the suburbs, but county governments have incorporated salaried firefighters into departments over the years.
In Prince George’s today, there are about 750 salaried and 600 volunteer firefighters, according to the county. In Anne Arundel, the 830 salaried firefighters are complemented by 550 volunteers, while in Howard the 720 volunteers outnumber the 400 salaried firefighters, according to those counties. In more rural Charles and St. Mary’s counties, volunteers are still the norm. In the District, as in most major cities, there are only salaried firefighters.
Each Maryland jurisdiction that uses volunteers handles oversight differently, but in few counties do the fire commissions or boards have as much power as they do in Montgomery and Prince George’s.
The members of the four-decade-old fire commission in Prince George’s are elected solely by the volunteers. Though it does not have veto power, the commission prepares a county budget of more than $11 million and reviews volunteer expenditure requests.
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