By Jake Stump
Charleston Daily Mail (West Virginia)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The recent deaths of two Nicholas County men have prompted lawmakers to take a closer look at providing financial incentives for volunteer firefighters.
Lt. Johnnie Hammons, 49, and firefighter Timothy Nicholas, 26, died Thursday night while battling a mobile home blaze with the Craigsville-Beaver-Cottle Volunteer Fire Department.
Offering volunteer firefighters a pension-like benefit after they retire would be one way of thanking them for willingly stepping into dangerous situations, some lawmakers say.
It also could serve as a tool to combat widespread staffing shortages in volunteer fire departments across the state.
The “West Virginia Firefighter Length of Service Act,” which has been introduced in the Senate, would create a pension-like system that could reward eligible firefighters with a certain amount of experience a $400 monthly payment.
Every fire department would contribute $2,000 annually to the fund for at least five years.
Each recipient would be at least 60 and have at least 20 years of active service credit as a volunteer firefighter.
The bill is sponsored by Sens. John Unger, D-Berkeley, Frank Deem, R-Wood, and Douglas Facemire, D-Braxton.
Deem is also sponsoring legislation that would allow existing revenues allocated for volunteer fire departments to be used to fund pensions.
Current revenues that go into a fund for volunteer departments can be spent for 12 specified purposes. Some of those purposes are debt retirement, payment of utilities and purchase of equipment. Funding pension benefits is not among them.
“They’re having a hard time keeping members, and we need to help them,” Deem said. “That’s the thrust of that legislation. Of course, the recent deaths show you how much these men and women sacrifice to protect our homes.”
The funerals for the fallen firefighters took place Tuesday.
The fire started in a camping trailer off W.Va. 20 in the Cottle area before it spread to a mobile home located just a few feet away.
Initial reports stated the two firefighters died when the home’s roof caved in, but officials are still investigating.
Hammons was an 11-year veteran with the department. Nicholas was in his first year.
Deem said there’s a fairness issue regarding firefighters and pension benefits. Volunteer firefighters don’t have a publicly funded retirement system like their full-time municipal counterparts.
Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, will preside over these issues as chairman of the Senate Pensions Committee.
Foster said the benefit that would be established by the Length of Service Act is not exactly a pension.
“It’s more like an insurance product, that provides some stipend for those who have served a certain amount of time,” he explained.
“The way I understand it, it’s not a situation where we would get into an unfunded liability issue, which is the problem with many of other true pension plans. This is different, but it’s a chance to provide some monetary benefit.”
Foster said he realizes the need for volunteer fire departments.
“It’s a problem for these departments to keep staffed,” he said. “Young people aren’t joining like they used to. With the two volunteer firemen killed the other day, it becomes even more of a serious issue.”
State fire officials have said there are about 10,000 volunteer firefighters in West Virginia. That’s a drop from 12,000 in 2000. Yet volunteer fire departments serve about 87 percent of the state.
A bill introduced in the House of Delegates would increase a surcharge on fire and casualty insurance polices from .0055 percent to 1 percent to benefit volunteer fire squads. The bill would provide about a $5 million boost.
Delegate Sam Argento, D-Nicholas, is sponsoring several volunteer firefighter initiatives. Argento represents the district where the two men were killed. He said his county relies solely on volunteer firefighters.
“I’ve told members of the House to not just gloss over the legislation,” he said. “They need to take a second look and consider that this is not only for Nicholas County firefighters, but volunteer firefighters from all over the state.”
One bill cosponsored by Argento would create a scratchoff Lottery ticket that would benefit volunteer firefighters.
“Volunteer firefighters have to raise their own money with hot dog sales, bingo, rummage sales, dinners, things like that,” Argento said. “These men and women who volunteer, it’s all on their own time.”
Copyright 2009 Charleston Newspapers