In July, the National Volunteer Fire Council endorsed the Supporting America’s Volunteer Emergency Services Act, a bill to provide federal assistance to volunteer fire departments struggling with the high cost of gasoline and diesel fuel. The SAVES Act, which was introduced by Sen. Robert Casey (D-Pa.) in the Senate (S. 3237) and Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) in the House (H.R. 6461), would create a federal grant program to allow volunteer fire departments to recoup 75% of the difference between the prices they are paying for gasoline and diesel today compared with the prices in their region of the country in 2007.

Senator Casey is attempting to have the SAVES Act included as part of an economic stimulus package that Congressional Democrats are hoping to pass before Congress adjourns, likely for the last time this session, at the end of September. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that an average volunteer fire department would save $1,725 per year under the bill and potentially more as the price of fuel increases in the future.

“High gas and diesel prices have put a strain on millions of Americans, particularly those operating on razor-thin budgets like our volunteer fire companies,” Casey said at a July 9 press conference attended by a contingent of firefighters from York, Pa., as well as NVFC Director of Government Relations Dave Finger. “We must help our firefighters so they aren’t forced to choose between their budgets and saving lives.”

To cope with the high cost of fuel, volunteer departments across the country have had to ramp up private fundraising efforts, alter vehicle dispatch procedures, and cut back on budgets for planned equipment and apparatus purchases. In letters sent to Casey and Altmire endorsing the SAVES Act, NVFC Chairman Philip C. Stittleburg outlined the unique challenges facing the volunteer fire service and why the recent spikes in gas and diesel prices are hitting so hard:

"Close to 40% of the population lives in communities protected by all-or mostly volunteer fire departments, mainly in rural or semi-rural areas where residents and structures are spread out over a large area. As a result, volunteers often have to drive long distances to respond to calls and attend training. To engage in fire suppression, departments have to use multiple apparatus to transport water to the fire ground if there is no local water supply present, which is often the case outside of urban and suburban communities.

Because emergency response in rural areas is so fuel-intensive, volunteer departments are extremely vulnerable to spikes in the price of gas and diesel. This is exacerbated by the fact that many volunteer departments are already operating on shoestring budgets. Because volunteer departments have little to no personnel costs, almost all of their budget revenue is spent on operations. This saves local taxpayers across the country an estimated $37.2 billion every year, but also means that even relatively small increases in operations costs can be significant when considered as part of the overall budget."

The NVFC urges first responders to contact their senators to ask them to support inclusion of the SAVES Act in any economic stimulus package. Contact information for U.S. Senate offices as well as talking points on the SAVES Act can be found at www.nvfc.org.