By Bill Carey
FireRescue1
WASHINGTON — The National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC), in partnership with the International Public Safety Data Institute (IPSDI), has launched three calculators designed to help volunteer and combination emergency service departments assess the financial benefits of utilizing volunteers.
These tools aim to highlight the economic impact of volunteer firefighters and EMS providers on both fire departments and the communities they serve. The calculators include:
- Return on Investment Calculator: This tool determines how long it takes for a volunteer firefighter or EMS provider to deliver value to their community after accounting for onboarding and training costs.
- Volunteer Department Retention Value Calculator: Designed to calculate the total retention value of all volunteers in a department, this tool measures the monetary worth of their donated time for the current year.
- Career Versus Volunteer Comparison Calculator: This calculator compares the costs of staffing positions with career responders versus volunteers, highlighting the significant savings volunteers bring to departments.
Departments can access these tools to better understand and communicate the economic advantages of their volunteer workforce.
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