WASHINGTON CO. COMMISSIONERS, FIRE OFFICIALS DISCUSS PLANS, GOALS FOR FIRE MARSHAL POSITION

  

Washington County officials and members of the county’s fire departments gathered on Tuesday to collaborate on a path forward regarding an intermediary between the county and the fire service.

During a workshop at the Washington County Expo, county commissioners answered questions from fire department representatives about their goals and intent for the proposed fire marshal position, as well as how it would affect the volunteer fire departments.  After an hour of dialogue, a consensus was reached to appoint fire chiefs and commissioners to joint committees, working together to determine the scope of the position.

Tim Hamff, Assistant Chief for the Rocky Creek Volunteer Fire Department and Public Information Officer for the Washington County Firefighters Association, said one of the main pieces of this discussion will be settling on a name for the role, as that will dictate what level of responsibility the position carries.

Hamff said he does not believe any of the county’s volunteer fire departments are opposed to having a county liaison help manage their funding and put together budget presentations.  The issue comes with all of the other duties typically assigned to a fire marshal, as he said they can easily get “overwhelmed” with building inspections, fire investigations and answering constituent questions, leaving them little time to help with budgets. 

Hamff believes that the fire marshal job description as the county originally wrote it could be “a bit burdensome” for one person to handle.  He added that he did not want the county to face unexpected costs associated with the “unfunded mandates” that come with the certifications needed for that position.

Commissioners said their intent for this position is to be a single point of contact who acts as the county’s subject matter expert for the fire departments, works between the two parties to assist the departments in receiving what they need, and is accountable for the funding the departments receive. 

Members of the court also stressed that this position is not meant to replace the services provided by volunteers or phase out the fire departments.  Commissioner Kirk Hanath said, “We’re not trying to take over anybody’s fire department.”  County Judge John Durrenberger said, “This position is to assist, not replace.”  Commissioner Dustin Majewski said the county could explore bringing in day crews to respond to calls and help out the volunteers while they are working their regular jobs, but it is “100 percent not the intent to go into somebody’s house and try to tell them what they are going to do.”

Commissioners also spoke on the matter of inspections, with Commissioner Misti Hartstack Corn saying she is not interested in creating a position that is meant to help out the fire departments but ends up being too busy inspecting every bit of new construction.  Commissioner Candice Bullock said she does not want to expose the county to more liability by having all of those inspections to deal with.

Hamff said he appreciated the discussion and hopes that through continued talks, the county and fire departments can work together to get “the best bang for the buck for all of us.”