A recent report presented by Virginia Commonwealth University Center for Public Policy provides an independent third-party confirmation of what many in local government already know to be true: localities struggle to fully fund fire and rescue services across the state, especially in rural areas with declining populations. The confluence of current restrictions on funding sources, declining volunteerism, national competition for a small pool of federal funds, and increasing emergency medical service (EMS) calls strain these services. Local fire chiefs and EMS directors need additional support to meet the needs of their communities. Limited funding results in a direct loss of services and can jeopardize the ability of fire and EMS teams to provide quality life-saving services in the time needed. VACo was an active participant in the workgroup that helped determine these findings.
These findings confirm previous workgroup and study conclusions from last year. As previously reported, a separate report published in 2023, “Service to Others: A Report on the Commonwealth’s Fire and EMS Service,” found that fire and EMS call volume has significantly increased, volunteer providers have decreased, and state level funding has only increased slightly despite these factors and in the face of massive spikes in equipment prices. This was the culmination of a workgroup study required by HB 2175 from the 2023 General Assembly session. This VACo supported bill directed the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security to convene a workgroup with various representatives of relevant state agencies and stakeholder groups. Unfortunately, despite this urgent, statewide, and cross-jurisdictional need, the letter accompanying the report from Terrence Cole, Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, stated, “that policy solutions should be largely focused at the local level” and that “while there is merit in the individual recommendations of the report, it lacks a realistic policy and funding recommendation.”
In part due to lack of additional action or resources committed by the Commonwealth to address fire and EMS needs and the contention that the report stemming from HB 2175 lacked sufficient objectivity due to lack of funding to obtain third-party technical experts, budget language and funding was introduced by Delegate Mark Sickles, supported by VACo, and enacted during the 2024 legislative session to complete a further review and assessment of the sufficiency of fire and emergency medical services funding in the Commonwealth. VCU was ultimately utilized to provide third-party technical expertise.
According to the report, fire and EMS provision, which used to be seen as a primarily local responsibility, is in a new era in the United States. Changing call types, reduced volunteerism, and new financial burdens have driven more and more states to contribute to local fire and EMS services. Specifically, 44 states provide funding to localities for fire and EMS provision while only 6 states do not. However, the report confirms that local governments provide the lion’s share of funding for fire and EMS service in the Commonwealth. Approximately 97.15% of the $6.2 billion spent on fire and EMS in Virginia in the three years from Fiscal Year 2021-2023 came from local governments. An estimated 1.13% came from federal sources, and 1.72% from the State. While Virginia currently provides the highest number of local fire and EMS funding mechanisms among all states, the large number of funding mechanisms could also present an administrative barrier to access for localities with limited grant-finding and -writing resources.
Despite the sharp decline in fire incidents across the US, the total number of calls received by fire departments has nearly tripled over the last three decades. These factors have led many states to examine new ways to ensure the provision of fire and EMS services to their citizens. In August of 2024, New Mexico became the first US state to provide funding to localities for firefighter personnel alongside EMS personnel. In a diminishing three-year grant design, $24.9 million was allocated for 190 firefighter and EMS positions across 59 localities. Given the centuries-long transition from primarily volunteer to career and volunteer fire and EMS provision, it is likely that more states will increase investments in local fire and EMS services in the years ahead as they acclimate to the dissipating volunteer composition of the workforces. The vast majority of Virginia localities ranked career and volunteer personnel as the top funding gap, followed by apparatus/ambulances, and facilities.
The report also confirms that additional enforced and proposed federal regulatory burdens such as changes to the Prescription Drug Box Program and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards for fire service pose significant unfunded mandates on local governments. As previously reported here and here, VACo has continued to engage at both the state and federal level to prevent or mitigate these challenges to local funding and authority.
The report concludes that that there is a need for the State of Virginia to increase its partnership with localities to address the gaps in funding across the Commonwealth. Key recommendations from the report include:
- Increase State Revenue for use by Fire and EMS Agencies: Increase the revenue received from vehicle registration fees and increase the percentage of the State’s gross premium income from fire insurance.
- Create a Fund for At-Risk Localities: Target additional state funding to localities most vulnerable to negative outcomes due to insufficient fire and EMS funding. Include an analysis of local funding contributions, population, land area, call volume, and reported need in allocation decisions.
- Increase Flexibility of Use for State Fire and EMS Funds: For state grants, increase flexibility to allow funding to be used for all major fire and EMS needs, including personnel costs, fire truck and ambulance purchase and/or maintenance, facilities, equipment, training, and communication systems.
- Support Volunteer Recruitment: Create a state campaign for fire/ EMS volunteer recruitment, including tools for training and recruitment, and incentives for employers and volunteers.
- Improve Efficiency and Streamline Collaboration: Initiate collective purchasing processes for equipment, apparatuses, and ambulances; facilitate regional collaboration for inter-locality dispatch systems and mutual aid; create a collective grant writing resource; incentivize and facilitate reporting of fire service calls; and support investment in infrastructure for 5G cell service in rural areas.
- Move OEMS under the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security: Convene an implementation committee to outline a new organizational structure that includes OEMS within the Public Safety and Homeland Security Secretariat. Among other items, the committee should consider merging the Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) into the Virginia Department of Fire Programs (VDFP) versus creating a co-equal Department of EMS; and how to effectively support personnel funding needs with state funds to facilitate sustainable funding structures.
Legislation and budget language addressing some, if not all, of these concerns will likely be debated during the coming General Assembly session. VACo urges the General Assembly to provide additional resources that would assist local governments with the recruitment, retention, training, and support of first responders such as law enforcement, fire and EMS personnel, and 9-1-1 dispatchers. VACo will continue to introduce and support legislation and budget amendments that seek to achieve these goals and provide updates as the session progresses.
The full report may be found here.
VACo Contact: Jeremy R. Bennet