They are everyday heroes. Everyone can agree on that. The men and women who volunteer to serve our communities as emergency service providers are critical to public health and safety. But even as the need grows, the numbers volunteering have been shrinking. In an effort to acknowledge the contributions of volunteers in more substantive ways than praise and plaques, governments are offering incentives such as tax breaks, tuition tax credits, length of service awards programs and pension plans.

Many measures to reward volunteers originate in state and federal legislation. However, in order for a measure to apply in a specific community, local legislation is often required.

Of current interest to volunteers are two measures in committee in the U.S. Congress. One bill (H.R. 1859/S. 1512) would prevent the Internal Revenue Service from taxing the property tax rebates and other benefits provided to some volunteers. The other (H.R. 2961) would assist volunteer and career fire fighters with down payments on homes and lower mortgage rates. An issue in some communities has been the inability of volunteers to afford homes in the communities in which they’d like to serve as volunteers.

There is an especially hot topic being addressed by the SAFER (Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response) Bill. Among other provisions, it contains language addressing the issue of the right of career fire fighters to volunteer in their off-duty hours. Many communities surrounding New York City, for example, rely on volunteers to staff their fire departments, and many of those volunteers work as full-time paid fire fighters in the City. The Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York last Spring amended its constitution to declare any member who also serves as a volunteer as “a member not in good standing,” a position shared by many unions across the country. Under the SAFER Bill, any fire fighter hired with funds provided by it could not be prohibited from such volunteer activity.

A guide to benefits for emergency service providers in individual states is available from the Web site of the National Volunteer Fire Council at www.nvfc.org. For samples of legislation from communities offering incentives to emergency services volunteers, visit our on-line sample legislation archive.

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