ELLISTON, Va. – Some people could pay more in real estate taxes in the New River Valley, but it could bring life-saving benefits to people who live there.
Montgomery County’s recently approved budget includes more money for first responders.
Dominique Baya is an advanced EMT with the Elliston Volunteer Fire Department.
Baya became interested after his mom told him to volunteer, to stay out of trouble.
“Just seeing how these guys get into action,” Baya said.
Baya said it was enough inspiration to become a full-time member he’s been on the squad for nearly a year, answering all types of emergency calls ranging from people needing assistance after a car accident to more serious incidents.
“There are life and death situations where you could walk and see someone with multiple gunshot wounds,” Baya said.
For Baya, it’s a no-brainer to have extra staff, including paid staff.
“Collaborating as such can result in a great outcome not only for ourselves but also the patient,” Baya said.
Officials say they’re looking to hire 8 additional staff members, the idea behind that is so that people can have faster service In case of emergencies.
“We’re transitioning from a full-time, part-time model, to more strictly full,” Michael Geary with Montgomery County Director Fire & EMS said.
Geary says prior to the pandemic beginning is when they saw a decline in volunteers and calls would get answered but there would be a delay in service.
“When it was at its worst down here you could see about 50 percent of the calls taking anywhere between 20 to 30 minutes depending where the mutual aid agency was at,” Geary said.
It’s now why Geary is pleased he’ll now have a total of 20 paid workers helping to serve people in eastern Montgomery County.
‘The board has been incredible to us,” Geary said.
Montgomery County Board Chair Sherri Blevins says the board approved its budget this year, $236 million.
Blevins said the board invested $23 million for public safety and $1.4 million is budgeted to pay for the additional staff.
“Nationally there is volunteer shortage this will help supplement and cover the county,” Blevins said.
Making sure heroes like Baya continue to serve the community.
“I’m just doing what anyone would do for me,” Baya said.
There may be a benefit for homeowners if there are emergency services available.
How the ISO Determines FSRS Numbers
For an insurance company to offer you a relatively low premium, your home would need to be in the category of homes that are unlikely to incur much damage in a fire. Therefore, the homes in your community would need to have nearby access to firefighters and a hydrant, as well as ample emergency-response services and a low frequency of past emergencies. The ISO bases its FSRS ratings on the following factors.
- Proximity to a fire department: Regardless of where you live, the insurance premiums on your home will primarily hinge on whether your community has a nearby fire department. After all, the closer you have firefighters on call to your address, the less your home is liable to burn in the event of a fire. If a home or community is more than five miles away from the nearest fire department, the area will automatically default to a 10 on the ISO rating system.
- Availability of firefighters: An FSRS for a given community is half-based on the availability of local firefighters. In order for a neighborhood to score a low number on the ISO rating scale, the nearest fire department must be within five miles of the homes in question. Moreover, the fire department must be staffed with a full-time crew who are ready to respond, night or day, to an emergency call within the department’s radius.
- Distance to a fire hydrant: For your home to score a low number on the ISO rating scale, there must be a fire hydrant near your property. The closer this hydrant stands to the foot of your property, the better. Homes in the one through eight rating bracket are generally within 500 and 1,000 feet of the nearest fire hydrant. Without this feature, even a well-staffed firefighting team would be less equipped to control a blaze on your property.
- Quality of local emergency services: To a lesser extent, the ISO rates communities by the quality of local emergency communications. When you dial 911 to report a fire, the operators should be able to connect your call to the nearest fire department immediately. If the call centers are ill-equipped to handle calls from your area, homes in your community are unlikely to score an FSRS of five or under.