Washington, D.C. – On September 10, the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) Foundation officially released its Cost Savings Study and Calculator at the National Associations of Towns and Townships conference in Washington, DC. The study, which was conducted by the Public Safety and Environmental Protection Institute at St. Joseph’s University with the assistance of VFIS, found that it would cost American taxpayers $37.2 billion annually if we had to replace all volunteer firefighters nationwide with career staffing.
Besides determining the national savings that volunteers provide, the NVFC Foundation developed tools that will determine the local cost savings provided by the volunteer fire department. Local departments can use the cost-savings calculator and PowerPoint presentation to then educate their city/town councils, fire department boards, local civic groups, etc. regarding the value their department provides to the community. Furthermore, these cost-savings figures can help make the case for the need for local, state and Federal investment in the volunteer fire service.
St Joseph’s Public Safety and Environmental Protection Institute, located in Philadelphia, offers a Master’s Degree in Public Safety. All of the students and faculty who participated in the project are volunteer firefighters. The study was made possible by a grant from UBS, through the efforts of Mr. Dave Rogers.
To download the cost-savings calculator, PowerPoint and study, visit http://www.nvfc.org/news/2004-cost-savings.html.
