Fire Company Looks to Carnival for Needed Fundraising

Marci Catlett said she hopes the weather provides what is desperately needed by the —sunshine for , which runs Wednesday to June 25 in the Owings Mills Mall parking lot. Nothing short of the financial status of the fire station is at stake.

The Owings Mills VFC is one of the busiest in the county, in part because it also provides ambulance services. But costs related to those services have helped put the station about $68,000 in the red so far this year, said Catlett, fire company spokeswoman.

The carnival is the station's biggest fundraiser and its success will determine the financial status of the station, she said, thus the plea for no precipitation.

"It's very dependent on the weather," she said. "If it's a rainy two weeks, we're screwed."

The VFC's proposed budget for this year is almost $550,000, while its total income is projected at almost $480,000, said VFC board member Harry Wallett in a Community Times report. About $44,000 accounts for the cost of running emergency medical services, he said.

Volunteers would typically provide these services, but the time commitment coupled with the area's need is simply beyond the capacity of a volunteer force alone, Catlett said. The Owings Mills VFC responded to 2,283 fire-related incidents and 1,995 medic-related incidents in 2010, according to the VFC website.

While the county provides some funding because the station is so busy, maintenance costs for the system have also increased. The station has had to hire, and pay for, emergency medical technicians to work from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., Catlett said.

"It's almost the death of the volunteer system," Catlett said. "We can't get enough members, who at first are all gung-ho, (because) then they find out they have to go class for more than 140 hours to be an EMT.

"Then (volunteers say), 'I've got four hours to give today.' But then they're stuck on the ambulance for eight hours.

"No one's got a huge chunk of time to give us because everybody's got lives and jobs and responsibilities, so we have to pay people to do it."

While in years past the carnival has brought in about $60,000, bad weather in 2010 lead to a little more than $30,000 in revenue, Catlett said.

The carnival, which was moved to the mall parking lot from the Metro Center a few years ago after fighting became a problem, comes with a $10 admission fee.

Baltimore County Police officers and other security will be on hand throughout carnival hours, said Lt. Stephen Doarnberger of

Moving and adding fences around the perimeter of the carnival have all but alleviated any safety issues, he said.

"Since then, it's worked beautifully," he said.

If the carnival doesn't pull in the money needed by the fire company this year, Catlett's not sure what its fate will be.
   
"We don't have a back up plan," she said. "This is it."

According to the Owings Mills VFC's website, carnival hours are:
    •    Monday – Thursday,  6 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
    •    Fridays, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
    •    Saturdays, 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
    •    Sunday, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

On Saturdays, an early bird special is available from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., when wristbands cost $17. From 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., wrist bands cost $22, according to the site.