Virginia county says new ambulances off limits to volunteer drivers — for now
Fire/rescue leaders dedicated first county-owned ambulances, loaded with high-tech safety features. https://t.co/EoUoN9L2Ur pic.twitter.com/pnyepq89ZH
— Fauquier Now (@fauquiernow) March 16, 2017
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For now, none of the 300 volunteer firefighters in Fauquier County are allowed to drive three new county owned ambulances at their fire stations. That job is being left to the 80 career firefighters who help staff those stations until insurance issues and re-confirmation of driving records can be worked out. One of the problems, according to Lawrence Emerson of Fauquier Now, is the county department and the Fauquier Volunteer Fire Rescue Association are covered under different insurance policies.
According to the news coverage these are the first three ambulances owned by Fauquier County.
Lawrence Emerson, Fauquier Now:
Only the career first responders can drive the ambulances, which cost $264,000 each, until the county personnel department verifies the driving records and training of volunteers in New Baltimore, Remington and Warrenton. The county placed the new units at those three stations, which handle the most rescue calls among Fauquier’s 11 volunteer companies.
The issue arose last week, when one of his battalion chiefs asked a question about driver certifications, Mr. (County Fire Chief Darren) Stevens said in an interview Wednesday.
“The long and the short of it was we didn’t think of it until we put the units in service,” the county fire chief said. “This is really about a merging of two systems” — volunteer and career.
