Wisconsin State Journal
MADSION, Wis. — As volunteers, they have for decades fought fires, driven ambulances and provided emergency care.
Now, the village of Shorewood Hills is reluctantly considering whether to disband its volunteer fire and emergency medical service departments and contract with the city of Madison.
If that happens, it would be the city’s first contract with a neighbor for fire and EMS coverage, Madison Chief Steven Davis said.
The city would get $500,000 or more and not have to add personnel or buy equipment, he said. The village, which reached out to the city, is exploring a change because it’s getting harder to find and keep volunteers and there would be significant future costs for paid personnel and equipment.
“Over the long term, the way we’re operating now, it’s not really sustainable,” said village administrator Karl Frantz. Change, which makes sense for financial and service quality reasons, is painful because it would end a proud village tradition, not only of fighting fires and saving lives but of serving in other ways, like putting on the annual Fourth of July fireworks show.”
The Fire Department has such a history and you have people who have volunteered for years and dedicated a big chunk of their lives,” Frantz said.The volunteers, many who’ve served the tiny enclave that hugs Lake Mendota for decades, acknowledge problems with the status quo but are saddened.
“It’s a social group as well as a firefighting group,” said volunteer Captain Gary Johnson, a village native who has served for 45 years and saw his sons Jacob and Erik volunteer, too. “I grew up with a lot of these folks. But I think we’ve got to the point where we’ve got very few alternatives,” Johnson said. “It’s getting more difficult every year. It’s sad but it is what it is.”
The Fire Department was formed in 1930, and the Fire Department Association, which promotes education and community service, formed in 1954. EMS was established in 1978.
The village, with about 630 households and a population of 1,567, produces about 120 calls for service annually, and personnel provide backup outside its boundaries.The village has two full-time employees: Fire Chief Keith Anderson, who started as a volunteer in 1980, and EMS coordinator David Sykes, who began as a volunteer 28 years ago.
But the number of volunteers, especially those who live in the village, is declining.
The Fire Department has 26 active members, including six residents, and EMS has 22 volunteers, with three resident EMTs and three resident drivers. Some people serve on both agencies, so the total number of active volunteers is about 30. Many EMTs are nonresident students preparing for medical careers. Recruiting is hard because volunteers face increasing requirements for training, and many village residents are professionals with demanding jobs, Frantz said.
The departments boost their ranks with interns enrolled in the Madison Area Technical College fire technician program, with six now living at the village’s firehouse, 1008 Shorewood Blvd. The village spends about $440,000 annually for fire and EMS services, and has three fire trucks and an ambulance.But with volunteers declining and responsibilities increasing due to new housing and other development, the village faces the costly prospect of hiring more paid personnel and having to replace and add equipment.
The moves would more than double the Fire Department’s budget and raise taxes by $1,500 on the average home, a village report says. The village first approached the city about a year ago, and decisions by the municipalities could be made this summer. Under a potential contract, the city would initially get $380,000 plus ambulance and inspection fees, and other revenues that would push total income past $500,000, officials said.
The village would get the full resources of the Madison Fire Department. The city would serve the village from Station No. 9 on North Midvale Boulevard and would not have to add personnel or equipment, Davis said.
Although the city and village initial response times are comparable, the city can deliver more personnel and equipment to a scene far more quickly, Davis said. Paramedics, rather than EMTs, would deliver medical care.It was unclear if or how the Fire Department Association would offer community service in the future.
“It’s like a second family,” said Assistant Chief Jerry Stein, a volunteer for 47 years who drove the ambulance while his wife, JoAnn, volunteered as an EMT. “I don’t think the village is going to be the same."But Sykes said, “I’m a little more optimistic. Things will go on, but in a different format.""I hope it will be a model of how cities can cooperate and get better, more effective services and still retain their identities,” Frantz said.
Copyright 2013 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved