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During its March meeting, the Highlands board of commissioners agreed to allow the department to change its bylaws to accommodate volunteers who reach age 65.
Hitting a milestone birthday will no longer mean mandatory retirement for volunteer members of Highlands Fire and Rescue.
During its March meeting, the Highlands board of commissioners agreed to allow the department to change its bylaws to accommodate volunteers who reach age 65.
“We have had a rule in our bylaws for years that says once a volunteer turns 65, they have to be taken off the roster,” Highlands Fire and Rescue officer Davis Picklesimer said. “We have two very dedicated volunteers that are at, or close to, that age and we are asking to get rid of that requirement so they can continue in their service.”
Picklesimer noted that the two volunteers in question logged more than 100 call responses each in the past year. They are both highly trained and well versed in the practices of the department.
“Finding volunteers is not easy right now, and these two volunteers are an asset to our department,” Picklesimer said. “We have called around and checked with other fire departments and rescue squads around the area and none of them have a maximum age anymore.”
Commissioner Amy Patterson asked what the reasoning was for putting in a maximum age for volunteers and if the change would have any logistical impact on the department in the future.
“I don’t really know why this was put in, but it has been in our bylaws for years and years,” Picklesimer said. “I guess the thought was when volunteers reach a certain age they can’t perform some of the physical tasks required to fight fires. But not every job within the department is providing interior attack on structure fires, these volunteers can still run the pumps, provide traffic control, respond to medical calls, and do any number of other essential tasks.”
Commissioner John ‘Buz’ Dotson asked how assigning duties would be handled in the future if a volunteer over the age of 65 was no longer able to perform certain duties. Picklesimer responded that the department’s officers would determine if a volunteer was unable to continue in their service due to physical limitations.
“The chief, and our officers, are not going to allow someone to be in a position where they can’t be effective,” Picklesimer said. “Those decisions would be made by a vote by our officers based on a recommendation by Chief (Ryan) Gearhart.”
The commissioners approved the bylaw change unanimously.
The board also gave Picklesimer permission to apply for two federal grants available to the department. The first grant, for $35,000, if approved would help offset the cost of volunteer equipment and the second, for $10,000, would reimburse the department for additional expenses incurred during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- By Ryan Hanchett