WILDWOOD – The results of a study of the feasibility of combining fire and emergency medical services (EMS) in North Wildwood, Wildwood, and Wildwood Crest were not enough to persuade officials in those towns to take steps toward consolidation.
The study, performed by Paul Bishop from CGR Promising Solutions, lays out the facts and then provides different options for officials to decide between – maintaining the status quo, combining North Wildwood and Wildwood fire, and creating a combined fire and EMS for the three communities.
In the study, Bishop writes, “There are challenges ahead for the Wildwoods that the municipal leadership should consider how to best address. There will be capital needs associated with one or more of the fire stations used by career personnel. There are regular demands for expensive equipment and apparatus for the fire and EMS service. The support of volunteer firefighters will likely further diminish. The challenges of recruiting new employees may grow further. The Wildwoods may be in a better position to respond to these challenges if they work as a single unit, rather than competing with each other or finding their own paths separately.”
Mayors from North Wildwood and Wildwood Crest and Wildwood Commissioner Steve Mikulski agreed they are happy with the way things are now and don’t see a reason to take steps toward immediate change.
“While the study provided valuable information and recommendations for future considerations, which will eventually help improve local fire/EMS operations islandwide, the steering committee of Wildwood, North Wildwood, and Wildwood Crest have agreed that at the present time – there is no compelling reason or benefit to pursue a consolidation and that we will remain status quo for the time being,” Mikulski said in a statement, indicating he was speaking on behalf of the Wildwoods collectively.
The steering committee that commissioned the study was comprised of Mikulski, Wildwood Administrator Carl Groon, North Wildwood Administrator Ron Simone, North Wildwood Mayor Patrick Rosenello, Wildwood Crest Administrator Constance Mahon, and former Wildwood Crest Commissioner David Thompson.
“I didn’t see any dramatic financial savings through a merger. I think that would be the compelling reason. If the service you’re providing is good, which it is, and there are no compelling financial savings through a merger, then you’re talking about a merger for the sake of a merger,” Rosenello said in a phone interview.
Rosenello wasn’t necessarily buying the idea that savings would come over time, eventually being able to share more equipment and reduce the number of officers in the departments, either.
“I know that the immediate merger would not only not save money, but it could cost money, with the potential down the road of maybe saving money on equipment and things of that nature. When you weigh all of that, that weight doesn’t tip me toward a merger now,” Rosenello said. “Our point of action is we are going to further clarify and improve the agreements between municipalities as it pertains to mutual aid and shared services.”
Wildwood Crest Mayor Don Cabrera also said in a phone interview that the current arrangement works well for the Crest. While volunteers are getting older and there are fewer newcomers nationwide every year, Cabrera is still happy sticking with the status quo.
Thompson, who oversaw public safety in the Crest, was on the steering committee but lost an election in November and the study came back in December 2021, shortly before his last day in office.
The study also laid out “operational opportunities” uncovered in the course of the research, like merging dispatch to the county dispatch center and exploring a dedicated paramedic service for the island.
The officials who commissioned the $100,000 study said they would be more amenable to changes from this category, especially the switch to county dispatch, than any type of larger merger.
Medical emergencies account for 70% of the calls into both fire departments, according to the study. Currently, EMTs are not able to provide certain treatments, and ambulances either have to wait for a paramedic to arrive or pull off on the side of the road and meet paramedics during transport.
“If a new fire and EMS service was created from the ground up today, it is unlikely that it would operate as separate departments because the geography is relatively small and consistent in character,” the study states.
North Wildwood typically has at least four firefighters on duty and Wildwood has five, according to the study. Both departments receive similar ratings, with North Wildwood scoring one point better, and both are in the top 25% of departments nationally, according to the Insurance Service Organization.
Wildwood Crest has a volunteer department that was not considered for the study. Volunteer departments in North Wildwood and Wildwood were also not factored in.
Rosenello said that a plan to move the North Wildwood volunteers into the paid firehouse is back on the table. The plan was first presented when the purchase of a property adjacent to the city’s firehouse, which would be used as part of an associated renovation and reconfiguration of the paid firehouse to accommodate the new equipment, was approved by City Council in 2020. The plan was put on hold pending the results of this study, which steering committee members received in December 2021.
Wildwood pays better and offers better benefits than North Wildwood, according to the study. Both fire departments deal with seasonal staffing changes, since calls more than double in June, July, and August, and both departments indicated hiring seasonal firefighters has been more difficult in recent years, the study states. Wildwood Crest also reports problems with recruiting and retaining EMTs.
More than 85% of the costs incurred by the two departments are personnel-related and more than 90% of Wildwood Crest EMS costs are personnel, the study states.
The study states the location of the two paid firehouses is appropriate for the island and that response times are good – both departments are “consistently” under five minutes, according to the study – and EMT locations in the three towns are also appropriate.
The history of the island has led to a layout where Anglesea Volunteer Fire Co. is basically across the street from North Wildwood’s paid department, but that relationship was not part of the study.
“I don’t see a lot of effort going into a merger coming out of this study,” Rosenello said.
To contact Shay Roddy, email sroddy@cmcherald.com.
