Prince William looks to reconstruct fire and rescue command

There may be organizational changes ahead for the Prince William County Fire and Rescue Association.

The Association (FRA) consists of both career and volunteer firefighters and EMTs in Prince William County. Fire Chief Kevin McGee is in charge of career members of the department while Volunteer Chiefs are responsible for those who serve at each volunteer fire company in the county.

A new proposal under consideration now by county officials would mean one fire chief, dubbed System Chief, would oversee the entire fire and rescue system in Prince William. The move would shift away some autonomy that volunteer groups have operated under for years, and give it to a System Chief, most likely to be McGee.

The proposal comes after the Prince Willaim County Board of Supervisors earlier this year dissolved the Evergreen Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department near Gainesville, and merged it with the career department. “Ongoing personnel issues” were cited as the reason.

“There was some frustration on the part of the Board of Supervisors when they had to get involved,” said Acting County Executive Christopher Martino. “We feel this wouldn’t have been an issue if a centralized command structure was in place.”

Career personnel typically staff fire and rescue stations in the county from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, while volunteers are on call weeknights, weekends, and holidays. Volunteers are credited with saving county taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars each year for their volunteer service, reducing the county’s reliance on paid firefighters.

However, volunteer leaders fear that a System Chief may not have the best interests of the volunteers at heart, and may choose only to focus on issues relating to paid staff.

“To have sustainability of a single chief system has a lot to do with the attitude of the single chief,” said Dale City Volunteer Fire Department Cheif Christopher Hool. “Loundon County went to a single chief system 10 years ago, and volunteer companies went by the wayside.”

While Prince William operates its fire and rescue services under the FRA, counties like Fairfax and Loudon, and Montgomery and Prince Georges counties in Maryland operate under the System Chief model with an advisory committee.

If Prince William adopts the new design, the System Chief will be responsible for reviewing volunteer firefighter applications, and have the ability to suspend any volunteer or career member of the department for not following the rules.

Last year, 134 people applied to b a volunteer at Dale City, said Hool. Most applicants are 18 to 25 years old, and many volunteer as stepping stone toward a career position, he added.

Volunteer and career chiefs will meet with county officials in a series of meetings to discuss these proposed changes. The next meeting will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 24, at the MCoart Building at the Prince William County Government Center in Woodbridge.