Carroll County gears up to develop its new combination fire and EMS department

Carroll County’s first combination fire and emergency medical services department was officially established by commissioners in October 2020, and for the last 21/2 years, county staff has been working to help the department come to fruition.

Earlier this year, the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services received approval from the Board of Carroll County Commissioners to purchase several vehicles, vehicle chargers and mobile and portable radios. In February, Director Michael Robinson Sr., said he was preparing to hire up to 200 employees in the next two years, as officials secured a contract to provide psychological testing as part of the hiring process.

Robinson, who filled the role of director beginning Sept. 9, is charged with the overall direction, administration and evaluation of the newly established department and will plan, develop, implement and evaluate a countywide combination fire and EMS system, policies and procedures.

Robinson said plans for the rest of 2022 are not final until commissioners approve the fiscal 2023 county budget at the end of May. The board has just begun the budget process and funds have not yet been officially set aside for the fire and EMS department.

“We are currently beginning the process so I wouldn’t want to state anything prematurely prior to approval,” he said. “Regarding a strategic plan, we are finalizing a process that began in November of 2021, which was one of my initial goals when I began in September. We have a group of about 46 persons representing each company, as well as fire and EMS administration.”

Robinson said this is being achieved in concert with the Emergency Services Advisory Council as well as the Carroll County Volunteer Emergency Services Association, the firefighters union and citizens at-large working on a plan with specific areas of attention.

“We hope to release that (plan) in about a month and then present it to the Board of Commissioners,” he said. “That will serve as our guidance as we move forward over the next one to two years.”

The Maryland General Assembly in 2018 passed legislation allowing the county government to establish the department. The years-long effort came to a close in October 2020, when the commissioners unanimously voted to create a new chapter in the county code of ordinances, marking the birth of the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services.

Before that time, the Carroll County Volunteer Emergency Services Association used personnel paid by the county.

Commissioner Stephen Wantz, a District 1 Republican, has spent years in the fire service and, during his 2012 campaign for commissioner, ran on the idea of starting a combination department. Also with him through the early years of the idea’s development were Commissioners Dennis Frazier, a Republican representing District 3, and Richard Weaver, a Republican representing District 2.

Some members of the CCVESA served on a work group that offered opinions on how best to shape the department. A panel of county officials and CCVESA members spent months narrowing a field of dozens of applicants who sought to become the first director and eventually selected Robert McCoy.

Commissioners then appointed members to an Emergency Services Advisory Council, which meets monthly to serve as an advisory body and help shape department policies. The council is composed of 11 voting members, including three citizens who are not affiliated with fire and EMS.

McCoy unexpectedly resigned in May 2021 after less than one year in the new position.

As part of the development of the new department, all current fire and EMS personnel will have to apply for a position with no guarantee of getting hired again. Those hired would become county employees.

Specifications and responsibilities for the job may change, Robinson said, adding that throughout the upcoming hiring process, the county is only looking to employ qualified individuals with experience.

At Thursday’s Board of County Commissioners meeting, Wantz said the county just took delivery of a brand-new ambulance with a Carroll County Department of Fire and EMS patch.

“It’s been a long time coming and we’re taking baby steps but we are getting there,” he said. “This is the first sign that we are making progress. It’s sitting out at the public training facility center right now and it’ll take about a week to get it ready for service.”

He said the vehicle will be labeled Ambulance 259 and act as a reserve ambulance for the county’s fire companies.