Councilman eyes big changes for fire and rescue service by David Abrams and Eric Kelderman Staff Writers Oct. 15, 2003 Two days before Hurricane Isabel hit, county fire and rescue personnel were directed to "harden up" fire stations by installing 1,500 sheets of plywood into windows and moving firefighters and equipment away from flood plains. But some volunteer firefighters resisted those plans, said County Councilman Michael J. Knapp (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown. They complained that they were not consulted before the order was made to use the plywood, and that they should be able to decide how to protect their own stations. Some received the wood but did not know what it was for. Volunteers at the Hyattstown station, which is in front of a creek, stayed at their home base despite a directive to move to the new Clarksburg jail. Some firefighters went to the jail; others did not, Knapp said. The disputes did not cause any major problems or loss of life, but they did cause some lawmakers and fire officials to question how well fire and rescue services would respond to more serious threats. Longstanding conflicts between volunteer and career firefighters need to be resolved in order for them to respond to the threat of biochemical or conventional terrorist attacks, Knapp said. Knapp plans to introduce legislation within the next two weeks to overhaul the county's fire and rescue service, install a new command structure, increase incentives for volunteering, keep better track of equipment and personnel and standardize equipment. Knapp's proposal brings up issues that have been argued before; it also reveals a conflict that has been brewing for more than 15 years. But Marcine Goodloe, president of the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Association, said that what is needed is not more change to the laws, but a commitment by the council to enforce the letter and intent of existing policies. Before 1987, the county's firefighters were either volunteers or paid personnel hired by volunteer organizations. Today, the county employs 930 career fire and rescue personnel. There are about 1,200 volunteers certified to respond to emergencies, said Frederick H. Welsh, acting chief of the Division of Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services. The differences between the two groups extend to the structure of the county's Division of Fire and Rescue: There's a chief who oversees the career firefighters and one who supervises the volunteers. Welsh downplayed the conflict between the two groups, saying that volunteers are more concerned about having proper training and equipment than they are about politics. "We all breathe the same air," he said. "We're all mortal. We need to continue the dialogue so we can focus on our similarities ... and the work." Tom Carr, chief of the county's career firefighters, could not be reached for comment. Nationally, there are more than 1 million active firefighters, 75 percent of whom are volunteers. But 58 percent of the population nationally is served by departments that are mostly career personnel. In Montgomery County, fire officials say that closer to 90 percent of residents are served by career firefighters. But Montgomery volunteers save lives as well as taxpayer dollars, Goodloe said. Just this past year, volunteers at the Wheaton fire station raised and spent $800,000 on equipment, she said. Knapp said he is not taking sides in the disputes between volunteer and career firefighters, but changes need to be made to ensure that the region is ready for future emergencies. "I don't have a dog in those fights," Knapp said. "But clearly we have a flaw in our system." The most controversial part of Knapp's plan would make the 19 volunteer fire departments account for their resources: how many hours were spent responding to calls, and how many supplies and vehicles were used. Knapp said his plan would help everyone keep better track of what they are doing. Many volunteer organizations complain that they are seeing annual budget cuts in county aid, while the money they raise in their communities is paying for calls outside of those communities. But Knapp said there is no countywide inventory of the resources that the volunteers provide. "I can understand the need for that, but we do have accountability," Goodloe said. There are yearly audits of each station, and a committee has just been formed to look at issues of equipment use and maintenance, she explained. There needs to be accountability for resources, Welsh said, but the county should try not to be penny-wise and pound-foolish about emergency services. Residents are not concerned about the budget or accounting practices when they have to dial 911, he said, and they are not worried about whether it's a volunteer or career firefighter answering the call. Knapp's plan also takes some decision-making away from the Fire and Rescue Commission, a seven-member policy group that comprises Fire Administrator Gordon A. Aoyagi, career and volunteer firefighters and public members. Knapp said the group, which has been hamstrung by infighting in the past, moves too slowly to make decisions that need to be made in emergencies. Volunteers were incensed earlier this year when County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) ignored their recommendations for commission members and instead appointed three political allies. To give the commission any less authority would give volunteers and the public less influence, Goodloe said. Another problem, one that's less discussed, is the command structure used during emergencies, Knapp said. Career and volunteer firefighters work side by side. But anecdotes exist about disagreements where a career firefighter has to take orders from a less experienced volunteer, or that a volunteer has to take orders from someone he outranks, he said. "I watched my neighbor's house burn to the ground," Knapp said. "I don't know what did or didn't go wrong in that situation." But, he said, the fact that those stories exist points to an underlying problem. "There may be some concerns in the station, but when our people are on the ground they work together," Goodloe said. "In all of my years I have never seen where that has been a problem on the fire ground. "If [Knapp] just wants to give authority to the paid personnel, that would not be equitable or fair," she said. Knapp is also proposing to give more authority to the chief overseeing the volunteers. While that may be helpful in protecting the needs of the volunteers, individual station chiefs might resist that move, Welsh acknowledged. Part of the process needs to include valuing volunteers, although they should not always have an equal say in operational decisions, Knapp said. His proposal also calls for community college tuition discounts, cheaper fees for county services and a higher retirement benefit for volunteers who are paid by length of service. On this issue, Goodloe applauded Knapp, saying that efforts need to focus on keeping younger volunteers.

HOUSE BILL 275

Unofficial Copy 2003 Regular Session

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By: Delegates Bozman, Conway, Costa, Glassman, Malone, Moe, Parrott,and Stull

Introduced and read first time: January 30, 2003

Assigned to Economic Matters

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A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerningVolunteer Fire and Emergency Medical Services Personnel - MandatoryPhysical Examinations - Prohibition

FOR the purpose of prohibiting the Commissioner of Labor and Industry of theDepartment of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation from adopting a regulation orstandard that requires a volunteer firefighter or volunteer emergency medical services provider to undergo a mandatory medical evaluation or physicalexamination; clarifying that the Commissioner may adopt a regulation orstandard that authorizes a volunteer firefighter or volunteer emergency medicalservices provider to undergo an optional medical evaluation or physicalexamination; defining a certain term; and generally relating to medicalevaluations or physical examinations of volunteer firefighters or volunteeremergency medical services providers.

BY adding toArticle - Labor and EmploymentSection 5-606.1Annotated Code of Maryland(1999 Replacement Volume and 2002 Supplement)

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OFMARYLAND, That the Laws of Maryland read as follows:

Article - Labor and Employment5-606.1.(A) IN THIS SECTION, "EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PROVIDER" MEANSAN INDIVIDUAL LICENSED OR CERTIFIED BY THE MARYLAND EMERGENCY MEDICALSERVICES BOARD.

(B) THE COMMISSIONER MAY NOT ADOPT A REGULATION OR STANDARD THATREQUIRES A VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER OR VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY MEDICALSERVICES PROVIDER TO UNDERGO A MANDATORY MEDICAL EVALUATION ORPHYSICAL EXAMINATION.

(C) THE COMMISSIONER MAY ADOPT A REGULATION OR STANDARD THATAUTHORIZES A VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER OR VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY MEDICALSERVICES PROVIDER TO UNDERGO AN OPTIONAL MEDICAL EVALUATION ORPHYSICAL EXAMINATION.

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effectOctober 1, 2003.