The Board of Supervisors’ decision to convert all Loudoun career firefighters to a 24-hour shift threatens to end the volunteer fire department’s role in the community.
The Board of Supervisors’ decision to convert all Loudoun career firefighters to a 24-hour shift threatens to end the volunteer fire department’s role in the community.
The current system has Loudoun County career firefighters assigned to volunteer-staffed stations working 12 hour day shifts, with volunteers providing front-line coverage for 12-hour shifts overnight. However, in November 2019 the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors approved a last-minute change to convert all LCFR career firefighters to a 24-hour shift schedule.
This significant change to the Loudoun County Combined Fire Rescue System occurred without prior notice to the volunteer fire departments despite volunteer leadership supposedly operating within the codified governance structure of the Loudoun County Combined Fire Rescue System.
This decision threatens the volunteers’ role because the county could force the volunteers to house the extra career staff members at night, despite the fact that volunteers will also be present and on duty. In other jurisdictions, this has led to career firefighters taking over the first tier staffing, while volunteers were forced to serve as back-up or supplemental staffing. Ashburn Volunteers own their own station and the emergency vehicles you see everyday, however they still were not given a say in the Board’s decision.
The net result of this decision may be increased taxes as the $27.6m in annual value contributed by the volunteers in Loudoun is offset by career personnel being paid to sleep while volunteers continue to freely serve our communities.
“We’ve served the community since 1944 and have put our lives on the line for the people of this community,” Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue President Josh Townsend said. “The least the County and the Board of Supervisors could do is let us choose what happens in our department.”
The volunteers have continuously stepped up to the county’s growing demands for more training, up-to-date apparatus, and staffing. Despite the long history of volunteerism and hundreds of thousands of hours given by volunteers, they still have no final say as to what will happen to the volunteer system.
President Townsend’s prepared remarks for the October 20, 2020 Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Business Meeting can be found at https://ashburnfirerescue.org/2020/10/21/avfrd-presidents-prepared-remarks-at-the-october-20-2020-board-of-supervisors-meeting/
For questions or comments please contact the media relations team at media@avfrd.net
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