Avalon Fire Department Seeks To Boost Stipend for Volunteers

AVALON – Avalon Volunteer Fire Department Chief Edward Dean is seeking to extend the stipend program the borough introduced to encourage overnight coverage at the firehouse. 
The borough, like other island communities in the state, moved to a stipend program when it became apparent that off-island volunteers, on whom the department depends, could not respond to evening calls fast enough and in sufficient numbers to cover evening alarms.
As property values rose in Avalon, young families, from which firefighters are often recruited, could not afford to live in the borough.
Getting volunteers from Avalon was a challenge. The department has over two-thirds of its members living off island.
In October, borough council approved a stipend program similar to that used in the neighboring community of Stone Harbor. The purpose of the program was to encourage firefighters and emergency medical technicians to staff the firehouse for up to four evening shifts per month.
The cost involved is not a significant factor in many of the shore communities that have moved to a system of stipends. The concern, expressed by Council member Nancy Hudanich, is to ensure that a stipend program does not undermine the department’s independent, volunteer nature.
Cape May County’s island communities have some communities with career, paid firefighters including Wildwood, North Wildwood, Ocean City and Cape May. Communities like Avalon want to avoid any steps that would inadvertently establish their volunteer firefighters as borough employees.
The stipend program approved in Avalon earlier this year set a limit of four nights a month for paid overnight coverage by individual volunteers.
Dean is asking to expand the maximum from four to five nights, moving from a maximum of $400 to $500 per volunteer who covers a maximum number of shifts.
Dean said that the program has not yet made a difference in attracting new members to the department. He argued that it has been a success in reinvigorating the existing membership, returning inactive members to active members.
He also said that the program had had a positive effect on EMT coverage.
Dean added that daytime coverage continues to be strong.
Avalon has high property values and an aging year-round population. Young firefighters are difficult to find and attract to the volunteer department. 
Reliance on off-island members means that response time is compromised even if off-island members can respond to a call.
Regardless, the numbers of calls are rising.
Many of them turn out to be false alarms triggered by sensitive home smoke detectors.
Others are real threats to life and property. For these, the borough wants a properly-staffed department in those late hours when the response from off-island is just not likely to be timely.
Dean hopes that an extra overnight tour for firefighters attracted by the stipend program will reduce or eliminate the number of times that the department did not have a crew to respond to an alarm.
Demographic and economic trends signal that this is a problem island communities will continue to wrestle with for years to come.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.