Plum mulls paying stipend to volunteer firefighters to boost daylight staffing
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Plum firefighters could get paid for some of their time under a proposal being considered by the borough.
Council is discussing a plan from the borough’s four fire chiefs to begin paying volunteer firefighters a stipend to boost daytime staffing.
As proposed, the daylight coverage program would see four firefighters staffed from 7 a.m. to noon and another four from noon to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Each would be paid $75 per shift, or $15 per hour.
If approved, it would be the first time Plum volunteer firefighters have been paid in any way, Logans Ferry Heights fire Chief Steve Marsh said.
Firefighters from departments outside the borough would not be eligible.
“Daylight staffing is the concern from the fire department side,” Marsh said. “This will allow us to hopefully get some people staffed during the day when we’re having a tough time of getting people out the door to respond to these calls, to get some dedicated people here within town who can be out the door quick to get on scene, to get started while the resources are on their way.”
The money would come from the borough’s fire fund, which gets money from a portion of the borough’s property tax.
How much a volunteer firefighter can be paid is limited by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, Borough Manager David Soboslay said. The cap would be 20% of the annual average base salary of a paid firefighter in Pennsylvania, which he said would come to about $12,000 per firefighter under the stipend plan.
Monthly statements would be used to track how much firefighters are paid, Marsh said.
While the proposal will appear on council’s agenda for its meeting Monday, Soboslay said he expects a vote to be delayed for further discussion. If that happens, the program would not start on Jan. 1 as officials had discussed.
The proposal was met with support from borough council members.
“This is a win-win for the Plum community and the fire departments,” said Councilwoman Vicky Roessler, chair of public safety. “Our fire departments will be working together with this stipend program to continue to provide coverage to all of the borough, to help with emergencies instead of having parts of the borough with no coverage because of staffing issues.”
Council President Paul Dern called the proposal “a great proactive stance to take.
“I’m completely in agreement with it,” he said. “I applaud you guys for bringing this forward to us. Love it.”
Council Vice President David Seitz also is supportive.
“I think it’s a great idea,” he said. “I’d really like to see this program succeed.”
Plum would be among the first to start such a program, Marsh said. He pointed to Unity Township in Westmoreland County as an example they are following.
Unity’s seven departments launched a duty crew program for a six-month trial on July 1. It aims to have one fire truck driver and a second firefighter standing by on each side of the Route 30 corridor through the township each weekday. Unity firefighters are paid $12 per hour for a 10-hour shift, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The state Office of the State Fire Commissioner did not have data on how many departments are offering stipends, but spokesman Andrew DeBrunner said municipalities and fire departments are getting creative to tackle the challenges of recruiting and retaining volunteers.
“Stipend programs are a prime example of solutions that can make a real impact,” he said. “Efforts like these can not only help to sustain our volunteer fire service but also help ensure faster response times and safer communities for all.”
In Plum, Marsh said there would be four firefighters on for each of the five-hour shifts, with two on each side of the borough per shift. For each pair, one would be qualified to drive an engine.
Participating firefighters could come from any of the four departments but might not be staffed at their own department.
“We’ll find the four people that are signed up for the day. We’re not necessarily looking at what station they’re from,” Marsh said. “They might not be at their home station. If I’m signed up and it makes more sense for me to be at Holiday Park for the day, the member goes to Holiday Park.
“It’s not going to favor one area. We have to look at the community. This is built to help the citizens, not just an individual department.”
Marsh said he found four or five of his firefighters who are qualified and interested in participating, but a challenge is that they all work daylight hours.
“Everybody was on board, but no one right now is going to take a day off work to do this,” he said. “Myself, I’m blessed with a work from home job. I can work from the fire station. Hopefully, as this develops, we’ll get some more people.”
The borough’s labor attorney drafted a formal agreement based on the fire chiefs’ proposal for officials to review, Soboslay said.