Firefighter reports only half the story By WARREN JONES • December 21, 2008 A lot of attention is being drawn to the Delaware volunteer fire service by a series of articles written in the News Journal. The articles, which took a year to put together, are misleading, only give you part of the picture and leave some important facts out. The Delaware volunteer fire service has a long and proud history of providing fire and emergency medical service to our residents, whether they be in urbanized New Castle County or the farmland of rural Sussex County. Some of our fire departments have histories that reach back into the 1800's. First, do we need to update our processes and accountability? Absolutely! The DVFA is working, in collaboration with the Delaware State Fire Commission and the leaders of the fire companies to understand our problems and to correct them. While fire trucks, in some instances, are taken for granted by the public, it's important to note each one can cost upwards of $900,000. The basic pumper, for example, costs a bare minimum of $400,000 before you put one piece of working equipment on board. It is not unusual for a rescue truck or aerial truck to be over $1 million completely outfitted. Running gear for each member of the fire service, costs in excess of $3,000 and it must be replaced regularly to meet the standards and to able to withstand heat that often can reach 1,500 to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. A firefighter can't be expected to fight a fire or enter a burning building wearing a raincoat and a regular pair of rubber boots. Helmets must be specially constructed to withstand heat and protect the firefighter from falling debris. A building to house a fire department, typically, can cost $3 million or more. The leadership, of the fire companies, understand the cost to operate their companies so they invest and save for future purchases. Our ambulance services are among the best in the country. One of our fire companies, Delaware City, was recently recognized as the best volunteer ambulance company in our entire country. Members of our association and the Delaware State Fire Commission are at the forefront of a national effort to make ambulances safer and increasing their ability to with-stand impact from crashes which, unfortunately happen. Every place I've traveled, from one end of the nation to the other, people admire the training and the leadership of the Delaware volunteer fire service. The support of our citizens and our government has given us the ability to provide these services without having to go to each property owner or business and ask them for an increase in their taxes. One of the suggestions made in the News Journal article was that the volunteer fire service is struggling and consideration should be given to changing to a combination paid and volunteer fire service. They suggest that we look at Montgomery County, Maryland, as a model for change. Making that change would require a tax outlay of $178 million in the first year alone. That's $204 for every man, woman and child living in Delaware. A family of four would have to pay an additional tax burden of $816 a year, just to get started. Insurance industry experts have told us that switching to a paid fire company, may save you about $300 or less per year in insurance costs. That leaves you with an additional tax burden of $516 at best. The costs are staggering and only go up, after the first year. The fire service works constantly to reduce the dangers of fire and to save lives, by promoting Wake up Delaware, a nationally recognized program that provides free smoke detectors and batteries to anyone who asks for them. We've given away tens of thousands of them. Evidence shows working smoke detectors in the home save lives. We promote fire prevention and life safety programs in every school in Delaware through our Risk Watch and Poster and Essay programs. A recently released study by the Delaware Heath and Social Services shows fire injuries and deaths in children are dramatically down in Delaware, because of our efforts and because families are cognizant of the dangers of fire and the improvement in fire safety they can achieve. Do we need help? Yes we do. Our country right now is in one of the worst times since the great depression. We, as Americans, need to come together. What better way to do that then to take up a community service like the volunteer fire service. Give back to your community and come join our family. Once you have touched a life you will understand why we do what we do. Thanks to thousands of our residents, the Delaware volunteer fire service has worked well for generations. With your help, it will continue to do so. Warren Jones is president of the Delaware Volunteer Firemen's Association.