THATCHER — In front of a crowded room Monday, filled with volunteer firefighters, the Thatcher Town Council said it is investigating ways to provide some type of compensation for firefighters’ service.
“I know that the insurance process, right now, they’ll allow us to buy in anytime for the firefighters, so they can do that currently. The call pay may be delayed a little bit,” Mayor Randy Bryce said. “We hoped to have some numbers by this meeting so that we could get it into the budget officially, but if it’s something the council determines is vital, then we can add it in as contingency in the next budget year.”
Thatcher Town Manager Heath Brown said he surveyed the neighboring towns and found that all but Thatcher pay volunteer firefighters for calls, training, and/or health insurance.
● Safford pays $20 for each training session, $30 per call, and covers 90 percent of the firefighter’s health insurance premium through the city’s plan.
● Pima pays $10 per training session and $10 per call. There is no health insurance compensation.
● Willcox pays $52 per training session, but there is no pay for calls and there is no health insurance compensation.
Brown said the town’s insurance plan can be made available to firefighters immediately; however, until or if the Town Council decides to contribute, premiums would have to be paid 100 percent by the firefighters.
The Thatcher Fire Department averages about 75 calls per year, and averages eight to 10 firefighters per call.
