Response to Volunteer Trends Last 5 to 10 Years

There have been comments contrasting volunteers for Fire and EMS in Charlotte versus other

towns such as Shelburne, Hinesburg and Vergennes. We believe that the spirit of volunteerism in general is high in Charlotte. One of the challenges about volunteering for Fire and EMS is the need for proximity to the Station for deployment. With very few businesses located within a short distance to the station, people who might be inclined to volunteer logistically cannot respond to calls during the day. Covid no doubt had an impact especially at the onset in 2020.

In addition, all licensed EMS providers whether EMT, AEMT or Paramedic level have significant initial and on-going continuing education requirements. There are 40 hours of CE for EMT’s, 50 for AEMT’s and 60 for Paramedics required each year.

There are also volunteers associated with the CVFRS Corporate Board that include three

community members.

Below are the number of volunteers as reported on the CVFRS section of the Town of Charlotte Annual Reports:

FIRE

2014-23, 2015-13, 2016-26, 2017-19, 2018-22, 2019-15, 2020-20, 2021-13 and 2022-13

EMS

2014-15, 2015-5, 2016-5, 2017-14, 2018-13, 2019-6, 2020-4, 2021-7, 2022-6