Lawmakers seeking job protections for emergency services volunteers

DES MOINES - Volunteers are the backbone of many local emergency services across Iowa, and lawmakers are working to ensure they are not penalized by their employers when they must respond to emergency calls.

"When the bell rings or however they're summoned to the emergency -- the EMTs, the firefighters, any first responders -- they have to go," said Rep. Polly Bukta, D-Clinton.

Legislation that would provide job protection to these local emergency workers has gained approval in the Iowa House and Senate but is headed to a conference committee to iron out differences.

Bukta said the Senate version contains issues that weren't related to job protection for emergency service volunteers.

The Senate version also would allow for a pilot project in Crawford County merging emergency services into one agency, said Sen. Tom Hancock, D-Epworth.

He is a proponent of the idea of allowing merged services.

Hancock said daytime staffing can be an issue in rural counties where volunteers make up the departments, and merged services could help. The state has roughly 880 volunteer fire departments with 22,000 volunteers, according to Hancock.

"Volunteer fire departments are very protective," said Hancock, who is a 40-year member of the Epworth Volunteer Fire Department. "They don't like to admit that they can't do the job because they're so dedicated."

Hancock points to a fire in Joice where he said only one volunteer responded to the call, and two other communities had to help out.

Hancock said volunteer ambulance services in small communities also have issues.

"The ambulance folks do not show up, the volunteer responders, so they have to rely on maybe an ambulance that's 15 or 20 miles away. And you know, this is happening in our state every day."

Bukta felt the provisions contained in the Senate version should have gone through a House committee before it was considered by the full House.

"I thought that it changed the whole make-up of the bill, and there are major policy changes within that bill that I thought really deserved a hearing," Bukta said.

Hancock remains optimistic that pilot project will gain support from the full Legislature.

"Hopefully, I can convince them," Hancock said.