Summerdale beginning pay per call for volunteer firefighters

By Jessica Vaughn / jessica@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 2/16/18

SUMMERDALE – After much discussion between the Summerdale town council and the Summerdale Volunteer Fire Department on ways to bring in more volunteer firefighters, the council approved a pay per …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Subscribe to continue reading. Already a subscriber? Sign in

Get the gift of local news. All subscriptions 50% off for a limited time!

You can cancel anytime.
 

Please log in to continue

Log in

Summerdale beginning pay per call for volunteer firefighters

Posted

SUMMERDALE – After much discussion between the Summerdale town council and the Summerdale Volunteer Fire Department on ways to bring in more volunteer firefighters, the council approved a pay per call system for all volunteer firefighters who respond to calls.

“With our fire department we talked about doing a pay per call for the volunteers to be eligible for the $10 pay per call from the town,” said Mayor David Wilson.

There will be rules in place for the volunteers that must be followed in order to receive the pay per call. A run sheet will be available at the fire station, and all responding firefighters are responsible for signing the sheet each time they respond to a call. Any firefighter who leaves the station without the permission of the officer in charge will not be eligible for the pay per call. Firefighters who work for the Town of Summerdale will not be eligible for pay per call during the times when they are on the town clock. If they were to respond after hours, they would be eligible for the pay. Trainees with the Summerdale Volunteer Fire Department will not be eligible.

All calls will be eligible for the pay per call, be it a medical call, car wreck, grass fire, or even a false alarm or a cancellation. For cancellations, a volunteer firefighter will still be paid the $10 as long as they continue to the station and sign the run sheet showing that they did respond. If any volunteer takes their time to quit what they’re doing and head towards the station, the town feels that they should still receive the $10 as long as they continue to arrive at the station and sign in, even during false alarms or cancellations.

The run sheet with all sign ins will then be turned in each month along with the fire report for the council’s approval. Once it has been looked over and approved, then the town will cut the checks monthly.

“I hope that this is a great incentive to help people to want to join up and volunteer,” Wilson said. “I know the bill will get bigger the more people we get, but that’d be a happy day.”