The St. Mary’s County commissioners accepted recommendations Tuesday to try to strengthen volunteer fire and rescue services.
A task force recommended a paid contract position be added temporarily to the Advanced Life Support unit to help cover more calls. The group also recommended that the department of public safety add two employees to recruit and retain volunteers for fire stations and rescue squads. A doctor would need to be brought on part time as well for 911 response protocols.
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The ALS unit supports the idea, as does the county’s emergency services committee. The ALS unit had 68 members in 2007, only a slight increase from 2002 and demand has been great, stretching manpower too thin. There were almost 3,600 ALS calls in 2002 and more than 4,100 in 2007.
The paid positions are included in this year’s budget request, but haven’t been formally evaluated yet.
