POINT BLANK — The San Jacinto County Emergency Services District Board approved hiring paid firefighters, despite objections that the selected plan may only be able to be funded for one year.
The approval came at a special meeting held July 29 at the Point Blank VFD, with members Brian May, Michael Smith and Derek Wilkie voting for the measure and member Emmitt Eldridge abstaining.
Member Tammy Russell was not present.
According to the plan, the ESD will have three firefighters per day available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year.
May said that the crew will augment firefighting in the Coldspring area as well as provide mutual aid to the rest of the county departments, and stressed that those employees would not replace the volunteers currently serving.
He also said that volunteers could also participate in staffing fire crews, as they're qualified and certified.
“We need to fill the gaps in coverage and gaps in service that we all know are out there,” May said.
Eldridge voiced concerns that the presence of paid firefighters would lead to volunteers quitting, and whether there are qualified people in the county to hire.
He asked that if there were qualified and passionate firefighters in the county, wouldn’t they already be volunteers?
Eldridge also pointed out that there were other obligations that the ESD had, such as purchasing additional ambulances and working to upgrade the county’s dilapidated communications system.
Smith, who is the board treasurer, said that the chosen model is much more expensive, running approximately $535,000 a year without the cost of purchasing equipment.
“We can't sustain that,” he said. “I don't think we can sustain that (level of funding) without diminishing our contingency funds to zero. We can’t sustain this model unless we get grants.”
Smith said the three paid firefighters 24-7-365 can be done one time, since there are no guarantees about income from there.
“I see this starting with that but falling down to a less expensive plan of three firefighters 12 hours a day and five days a week,” he said.
A final concern was about housing the firefighters when they are on duty, which could be done at the Coldspring Volunteer Fire Department, but with the city of Coldspring’s blessing.
Eldridge advocated starting with a more modest plan and working upwards from there, saying he hates making decisions without solid numbers.
The board still approved the measure, but with a 6-month review period to oversee the viability of the plan. It set a tentative start date of Sept. 15 and authorized ESD Fire Chief Bryant Matthews to begin the hiring process and procure necessary gear.
In a related matter, the board approved an interlocal agreement for firefighting services that will be presented to the Coldspring City Council for its consideration.
