Carroll County continues hiring for Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services

The Carroll County Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services is continuing to hire firefighters, paramedics, engine drivers, and civilian personnel to work in the county’s first combination paid and volunteer fire service.

With an allotment of $23.5 million from the county’s $542.8 million in this year’s operating budget, the department has been methodically hiring personnel and stocking up on supplies needed to provide round-the-clock coverage.

“We are currently at 116 employees in our hiring process, and will fill 38 vacancies by mid-October,” department Director and Chief Michael Robinson Sr., said this week.

The salary for a firefighter and an emergency medical technician is $21.69 an hour, according to an information sheet from the department. The hourly salary for a fire apparatus driver is $23.64, $25.78 for a paramedic, and $28.42 for a firefighter/paramedic.

The department will also be hiring a new assistant chief of Training, Health and Safety, Robinson said, and is also advertising for two billing technicians to oversee insurance billing for EMS, as well as a data analyst. The plan is to fill those positions by October.

According to the job advertisements, the salary for a full-time billing technician is $20.62 an hour.

“We have advertised for several civilian positions including a quartermaster who oversees uniforms, equipment, medical supplies and other protective equipment,” Robinson said.

The quartermaster position pays $24.48 an hour.

In May, the department inducted 16 new lieutenants, which include 12 station lieutenants. Four each have been assigned to the Westminster, Sykesville and Mount Airy fire and rescue companies, and are working 24 hours on duty and 72 hours off.

The four other lieutenants are shift commanders, overseeing the entire department while on 24-hour shifts. They are responding to all major incidents, administering staff and serving as the senior representative of the department to other agencies.

The four shift commander lieutenants are being paid an hourly wage of $33.76, and 12 station lieutenants are paid $30.95 an hour.

Robinson said over the next few years he plans to hire up to 240 employees for the new department.

Meanwhile, supplies, vehicles and uniforms are also being purchased.

The Board of Carroll County Commissioners on Aug. 10 unanimously approved Robinson’s request to spend no more than $100,000 on shirts, pants, jackets, dress uniform items, caps and helmet fronts.

“Obviously our people are out there working hard so uniform changes during a 24-hour shift are frequent,” Robinson said to commissioners. “Obviously they will wear out. They’ll rip, they’ll tear, everything else.

“This will allow us replacements as needed to start a stock level within our warehouse,” he said. “With our quartermaster coming on board here in the next few months, we still have some people that have been hired that haven’t received all their uniforms, so this will give us adequate funding.”

The uniforms will be ordered from The Witmer Public Safety Group, a safety equipment supplier based in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. The company has been the supplier for most of the uniform items for the county, a briefing paper states.

In January, commissioners unanimously approved spending $56,219 for the purchase of Class A and Class B uniforms from the Pennsylvania company. Officers wear Class A uniforms that include a dress coat, shoulder straps, sleeve strips, pants, long-sleeve shirts, Velcro ties, shoes and caps, at a cost of $440 per uniform, county documents state. The Class B uniforms for staff will include shirts, pants, jackets and Velcro ties, at a cost of $377 per uniform.

The push to create a combination paid and volunteer county fire service began in Carroll County more than a decade ago. In 2018, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation allowing the county to establish the new department and in October 2020, commissioners unanimously voted to pass an ordinance creating it.

Robinson began in his role in September 2021, and has been charged with the overall direction, administration and evaluation of the department. Under his leadership, the new Department of Fire and EMS has been purchasing equipment, supplies and vehicles, and hiring personnel.

Staffing and equipment is needed for 13 of the county’s 14 volunteer fire companies. The Harney Volunteer Fire Company in Taneytown will receive no new staffing, as it has no ambulances and a low call volume.

Ted Zaleski, director of the county’s Department of Management and Budget, stated in a fiscal 2024 budget document that the ongoing costs associated with the transition to a county fire and EMS department will be about $20 million per year.

“We believe we are closer to capturing the full cost of implementation,” he said. “As with any of our long-range planning efforts, the projections will continue to be refined as more information becomes available.”