T-E Fire Companies Work To Get More Sustainable

The recently launched T-E Fire Companies Funding Coalition and our four member departments, Berwyn, Paoli, Radnor and Malvern, thank the entire T-E community for the support we’ve received since our July launch. Our efforts have succeeded in generating wide-spread community discussion about the need to sustainably fund our primarily volunteer emergency service organizations.

The Coalition’s four departments each face their own unique challenges, but all recognize the lack of sustainable, dependable funding as a serious threat to our long-term ability to provide emergency services at the current levels.

Over the past 10 years, we have increased our transparency and communications with Tredyffrin and Easttown Townships. This has resulted in strengthened relationships with township supervisors/managers and increased support for short-term operational needs. As we look to future, it is clear that an even more collaborative approach is needed to create solutions for long-term, sustainable funding as we face the challenges of increased costs, increased call volumes, decreased reimbursement from ambulance billing, and a decline in volunteerism. The Coalition was formed to provide more streamlined communication between the departments, our community and local leaders.

In the coming months, we will continue to keep the public informed through outreach and seek meetings and work sessions with local leaders to discuss these important issues.

The firefighters and EMTs that serve Tredyffrin and Easttown do so without salaries or benefits. In addition to responding to emergencies in the community, they also carry the heavy burden of soliciting funding for the services they provide. This includes funding for firehouses, equipment and maintenance, and paid personnel who provide essential services to each fire company.

We have received many questions as a result of our outreach. Here are a few of the most common:

Q. How can fire companies in affluent areas such as Tredyffrin and Easttown face financial challenges?

A. Our fire companies face the same resource challenges as others throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 97.1% of fire companies in the Commonwealth are classified as volunteer or mostly volunteer by FEMA. We have limited options for revenue sources, and costs continue to outpace current funding levels from ambulance billing, donations, and township contributions.

Q. Aren’t the fire companies fully funded by the townships? Don’t my taxes pay for these emergency services?

A. The municipalities’ contributions cover less than 25 percent of our budgets. There is no predictable funding formula. No portion of residents’ or businesses’ tax bills are dedicated to funding fire or ambulance services, nor is there a dedicated commercial fire tax or fee.

Q. Can’t you just fundraise?

A. We do hold fundraisers and seek donations from both residents and business owners. The participation rate is not high –less than 30 percent of residents and less than 15 percent of businesses donate to the fire companies in our community.

Also, the costs of spending more time and effort fundraising would outweigh any benefits. Most of our volunteers have full-time jobs and families. They drop everything to respond to fires and medical emergencies. The average first responder donates hundreds of hours per year to training and responding to emergencies, and additional time to participate in fire prevention education and other community events.

The Coalition fire companies are financially conservative, and therefore not in immediate danger of closing. But we must plan for the future. Continued commercial and residential development has increased our call volumes. Our non-municipal funding sources, such as ambulance billing and donations, are shrinking and unpredictable.

Many parents with young children plan for the future by saving for college. We are dedicated to taking a similar proactive approach to sustain the livelihood of the fire service in the community that we all live in and protect. Action is needed now. We feel this collaborative effort between the Coalition and the Townships will not only provide the best outcomes for our residents, but will become a best practice for other communities facing the same challenges.

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Radnor Fire Department Chief Joseph Maguire and President James Kelly,

Berwyn Fire Department Chief Eamon Brazunas and President Nam Truong,

Paoli Fire Department Chief Ira Dutter and President John Beatty,

Malvern Fire Department Chief Neil Vaughn and President Paul Wilkins