“Did somebody say the Middlebury VOLUNTEER Fire Dept. Just you
wait as we start the processing of all the money that runs from the department
to pants pockets for SOME individuals. Not ALL FIREMEN, JUST SOME
SPECIAL FEW FIREMEN.”
You don’t have to wait for Mr. DeAngelis’s big scoop here. The information about MVFD Incentive pay and Fire Pay has been published on the MVFD website since March 18, 2008. Go to http://www.middleburyfire.org to see the listings. But, that did not stop Mr. DeAngelis who traveled to the Firehouse this week with one of the alleged political sign thieves in-tow, to examine the fire pay records.
Every year there is a reduction of men and women across the USA that are willing to volunteer their time for either the fire service or for EMS. People are busy with their jobs and families and time to volunteer for other organizations becomes almost non existent.
On top of that the demands on Volunteers in a post-911 world are higher than ever before. The average EMT course is around 160 class room hours. Firefighter I courses in Connecticut has recently jumped from a 160 hour course to over 200 hours. All to be a volunteer. On top of that, there is yearly OSHA training, NIMS training, meetings, live burns and Department drills that members must attend. That is a lot to ask.
Many towns have created incentive, fire pay, tax deductions and/or pension programs in order to attract volunteers to their ranks. The goal is to get volunteers through the door, train them, and get as many years as they can from them before they either burnout, lose interest, or just get sick and tired of hearing how bad they are, on Mr. Deangelis’s website.
Thus, in return for their service two types of pay were offered to the MVFD members. This is nothing new. The fire pay has been around for years. Regular members get paid $6.00 per call. Officers get a little more. This is an incentive for members to show up to calls. Its paid out twice a year; in the summer and at Christmas.
In addition, several years ago there was discussion of providing a pension plan to give something back to members for their years of service. The system proved to be too expensive. On top of that, requiring members to wait until they were 65 years old to collect this pension hardly was a way to attract young firefighters.
Consequently, an Incentive Pay plan was established. It was based on a “Point System” in which the firefighters who did the most work, would receive a greater share of the funds in the Incentive account. The more you do, the more you get. If you don’t do anything, you get nothing.
Mr. DeAngelis talks about the “special few firemen” who are filling their pockets with your hard-earned tax dollars. The truth of the matter is that these same special few firemen are the same firemen that are saving this Town a tax increase of 2 to 3 million dollars a year. That is what it would cost to have a paid Department. The very people Mr. DeAngelis likes to attack, are the one’s that have their finger in the dike to prevent a paid FD from coming to Middlebury. You lose that “special group” watch your taxes go up when the Town is forced to hire paid firefighters.
No one at the MVFD is getting rich. In fact, most members lose money in lost wages and time when they respond.
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10 comments:
I don't understand. If its VOLUNTEER, why do they get paid ?
Are they paid with taxpayer funds ?
This guy is a real asshole. The Middlebury Volunteer Firemen are top notch and should not be treated the way they are. I can understand why paul gets heated.
(I am not a firmen)
For the person who does not understand. Go read the post again, maybe a little slowly this time.
If its volunteer, why do they get paid ?
If they have to attend courses then maybe pay them for that but then it should be VOLUNTEER.
Otherwise call it the MPFD (P for paid)
I am a taxpayer and not a fireman.
A few months ago the town of Naugatuck, which has a PAID fire department, was the subject of an article that told how dearly they wanted to go back to a VOLUNTEER department to save hundreds of thousands - if not millions, of dollars.
I am so grateful that Middlebury still has a volunteer fire department. It is saving me tons of money. I'm also grateful for the many charitable works they do during the year. I'm also grateful for the grooming of young men and women as volunteer fire fighters. These people are taught the value of public service through service!
What the hell is wrong with Deangelis? His pickiness could cause Middlebury millions. Is that what he wants? He is a fool.
Maybe you should join the fire dept or ambulance service. Its a lot of hard work and dedication. How would you know, you have never done it
We should just get a paid dept. and than we can all thank Mr. asshole.
what can you buy for 6 dollars a call. lets put a list together of what we could buy. You can't see a movie for less than 6 unless its at that old movie theatre in watertown that plays really old movies
The pay is an incentive, it comes from taxpayers money. It's not what get's me out of bed at 3am to save a life or a house before a full day of work. But it does pay for a dinner out or gift for a child as a little conselation for all the broken committments that come with droping EVERYTHING when the alarm sounds. If you can't understand that then hang with me a while and you will.
As for the Middlebury Paid Fire Department, that implies a living wage. No one at MVFD earns that, not even the chief who responds to over 80% of all alarms.
"I don't understand. If its VOLUNTEER, why do they get paid ?
Are they paid with taxpayer funds ?"
I'm really in the writing mood tonight.......The members of the MVFD don't get "paid". If you think $6.00 was the reason I sat on the highway for an hour and a half last night, you have serious issues. A per-call payment is very common in the volunteer fire service, as are pensions, tax credits and incentive payments. I know many firefighters from all over the state. I can tell you that not a single volunteer I know does it for whatever they get from the municipality they volunteer in. In fact, most of the career firefighters I know aren't there for the paycheck. Almost all of them have some side career, so they can make a comfortable living. But, to a man, none of them would ever give up the job. Career or volunteer, it's almost never about the money. I can assure you that not a single member of the MVFD would quit if they did not get their incentive pay or their per-call stipend.
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