Journal Editorial: More funding for fire department is the right thing

Brandon’s volunteer firefighters don’t do it for the money. They never have. They show up at 2 a.m. house fires, rollover crashes on icy highways, and medical calls that pull them from family dinners or weekend plans. They run toward emergencies while the rest of us hope the sirens mean help is already on the way.

So when the Brandon City Council voted unanimously last week to begin compensating volunteer firefighters at minimum wage for the hours they spend responding to calls, it wasn’t a move to “pay” them in any real sense. It was a recognition that their time – their sacrifice – has value. And more than that, it was an acknowledgement that the future of volunteer firefighting depends on communities stepping up as strongly as the people who protect them.

Fire department leadership has pushing for this change for two years, and for good reason. Brandon’s department has been capped at 40 members since the 1950s, but it has rarely approached that number. Today, it stands at 29 active volunteers, despite answering more than 450 calls this year — a staggering load for what some consider a small but growing city.

Recruiting new volunteers is hard. Keeping them is even harder. Horn notes that many volunteers leave after 10 to 15 years — understandable when you consider the hours, the stress, and the emotional toll these calls can take.

Now, with a pay-per-call model that is common in other states, Brandon is simply catching up.

This is not a financial windfall for firefighters. Minimum wage compensation will not turn a single shift into a payday; as Horn pointed out, every volunteer has a full-time job elsewhere. The concern raised at the meeting  that firefighters might flood calls just to collect a few dollars is not likely to happen. Showing up to an emergency scene is not a hobby or a side gig. It is hard, often dangerous work requiring training, readiness, and courage. No one is chasing minimum wage for that.

What this change will do is help remove barriers for people willing to serve.

The $100,000 added to the city budget for this program is not insignificant. But public safety is never the place to cut corners. As Brandon grows, so will its emergency calls. Investing in a reliable, well-staffed fire department is not optional; it is foundational to a healthy and functioning community.