Rector hired as county fire coordinator
Published 9:25 pm Thursday, December 5, 2024
Warren County’s first-ever countywide fire coordinator comes with nearly a quarter-century of experience in firefighting, most recently as assistant fire chief for the Hollywood (Maryland) Volunteer Fire Department.
The hiring of William Rector as fire coordinator was announced at Thursday’s Warren Fiscal Court meeting as the culmination of a months-long process to fill a position created as an outgrowth of a consultant’s investigation of the county’s nine volunteer fire departments.
Although that study by consultant MissionCIT resulted in many recommendations for improvement in the VFDs, Rector expressed confidence that he and the volunteer fire chiefs can work together to make the improvements.
“I feel like my life experiences have prepared me for this opportunity,” said Rector, 39. “I believe I have something to offer. It sounds like Warren County is experiencing rapid growth, and I’m excited to be part of it.”
Rector’s experience includes seven years in his current position in Maryland, as well as five years as fire chief in Dunkirk, Md. He said he has been involved in firefighting as either a volunteer or professional for 24 years.
Fifth District Magistrate Eric Aldridge, chairman of the committee that has been studying the future of the county’s VFDs, explained that hiring a fire coordinator is the first recommendation coming out of a consultant’s study to be implemented.
The county hired consultant MissionCIT, at a cost of $48,300, in 2023 to look at VFD operations and recommend improvements.
The study was initiated because of the county’s rapid growth and the resulting increase in the number of emergency responses made by the VFDs that rely almost entirely on trained volunteers and operate on limited budgets.
Established in 1972, the county VFDs are funded largely through fire dues that have been part of county tax bills since 2004, but those dues of $50 for households and $70 for businesses are seen as inadequate to keep up with the fire departments’ growing workload.
Filling the fire coordinator position, County Judge-Executive Doug Gorman said last week, is a first step toward making needed upgrades in the fire departments.
“This is someone who will work with all nine fire departments and also give direction to fiscal court on following through on some of the suggestions from our fire department survey,” he said. “He’ll start assessing everything from equipment to potentially a hybrid arrangement with some paid and some volunteer firefighters.”
Aldridge, in a prepared statement, said Rector was selected from a pool of five candidates who were interviewed for a position that was advertised at a salary of $75,000 per year.
He said Rector, when he starts work on Jan. 6, will begin meeting with county officials and emergency responders “in order to establish good working relationships and facilitate easy collaboration, honest conversations, and assessments of needed change or support moving forward.”
Gorman expressed confidence in Rector, a past winner of the Hollywood VFD’s Firefighter of the Year Award.
“I’m extremely confident in his abilities,” Gorman said. “Rector is unquestionably qualified to lead the next phase of firefighting in Warren County. The next phase will be increasing the level of fire protection we can provide, and Mr. Rector is going to get us there.”
Rector’s hiring follows last week’s approval by fiscal court of spending $9,052.48 to purchase from Louisville-based Fire Department Service and Supply the personal protective equipment needed by the fire coordinator.
The hiring of a fire coordinator was one of several recommendations coming out of MissionCIT’s 187-page report. Among the others:
•Changing the funding model from fire dues to an insurance premium tax.
•Billing for non-EMS incidents.
•Establishing a capital fund to pay for fire station improvements and equipment.
•Hiring a full-time volunteer recruitment coordinator and a full-time fire marshal.
•Hiring full-time firefighters to staff four strategic fire stations during daytime hours to provide a minimum level of response when the majority of volunteer personnel are least available.
Rector will take on the task of helping decide which of those recommendations to implement, and how.
“I think there will be some tough conversations as we work through this,” he said. “With federal grants, state grants, and county funding, we can make it work.
“I have experience with combination (professional and volunteer) fire departments. If we put the right people in place, it will work.”
Among other items at Thursday’s meeting, the magistrates approved spending $21,128 to install a guardrail on Roger Cole Road.