The Cecilton Volunteer Fire Company (CVFC) is proud to announce the expansion of its Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Career Services Program. In July 2019, the Company implemented a Career Services Division to better provide EMS services to community members living in Cecilton, Earleville, Warwick, and surrounding communities.
CVFC is a nonprofit organization and, since its inception in 1936, has been solely governed and staffed by volunteers. However, the area saw exponential growth over the last decade consisting of both commercial and residential development including Frisby Meadows, Parklands, Cecilton Senior Village, Dollar General, Royal Farms, Sun Med Growers, Recovery Centers of America, and Warwick Mushroom Farm, just to name a few. The growth of the community coupled with decreasing volunteerism made it difficult to keep up with the growing emergency medical needs of the community.
Between 2018 and 2019, CVFC experienced a nearly 40% growth in ambulance calls. During the first six months of 2019, the scratch rate for ambulance calls was 41% requiring responses from neighboring fire companies. The inability to meet the emergent needs of our community was unacceptable, as such the Board of Directors implemented a self-funded Career Services program that employs paid, part-time Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) to staff the ambulance during the day when volunteers are working. Volunteers continue to respond to emergencies by upgrading the ambulance and responding in the evenings and weekends when the station is not staffed. In the first six months of the program, the overall scratch rate of ambulance calls was reduced to 11%.
As volunteer fire companies across the nation continue to experience a decrease in volunteerism and frontline industries are affected by an increasing labor shortage, CVFC strives to provide fast and reliable emergency services to the community. To achieve this, the CVFC Board of Directors has approved the expansion of the Career Services Division at their December 7, 2021 meeting. This expansion includes 24-hour Career Services coverage, increasing fully staffed ambulance responses for medical emergencies. Additionally, the organization has expanded its Basic Life Support (BLS) positions to include Advanced Life Support (ALS) and both full-time and part-time positions will be available. Interested providers can apply by sending a resume to
[email protected].
Volunteers are vital to CVFC’s success and ability to serve the community. Many roles are available including firefighters, emergency medical providers, ambulance and apparatus drivers, administrative support positions, fundraising, etc. Free training is available through the University of Maryland’s Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute. Other benefits include possible tax incentives and participation in Cecil County’s Volunteer Length of Service Award Program (VLOSAP). A cadet program is also available for youth ages 14-16. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please message the CVFC Facebook Page or e-mail
[email protected] for more information.
CVFC is dedicated to its mission of service for others and the administration is excited for this new opportunity to better serve the community. Thank you for your continued support!
