Carroll County’s unanimous vote creates a $10 million revolving loan program to help 14 volunteer fire companies afford fire engines costing over $1 million and ladder trucks exceeding $2 million

By Marissa Yelenik
Baltimore Sun

CARROLL COUNTY, Md. — Carroll County officials voted to create a $10 million revolving loan fund to help 14 volunteer fire companies afford increasingly expensive fire engines, ladder trucks and other emergency vehicles.

The Board of Carroll County Commissioners unanimously approved the program Thursday, offering loans for vehicle purchases as fire companies face costs over $1 million on fire engines and over $2 million for ladder trucks.

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“This is just going to provide a great opportunity for the volunteers,” Carroll Fire & EMS Chief Michael Robinson told the Carroll County Times. “With the challenges of the costs and economy it gets more and more difficult for volunteers to maintain the cost of apparatus. … This provides that additional funding that may not be there otherwise.”

Robinson said he hopes to have the program open for applications no later than January.

The move, Commissioner Michael Guerin said Thursday, is a “long time coming” and will help support the department established just six years ago.

“Things are getting more expensive, and fire trucks and fire engines and rescue vehicles don’t last forever,” Guerin said. “I think it again just signifies this board’s commitment to solving problems that are long-standing.”

Established in 2020, the county’s Department of Fire & EMS has continued its transition from all-volunteer to a mix of volunteer and career staffing for the past several years. Vehicles are owned in part by the volunteer fire companies and in part by the county.

The county hopes to own all ambulances in years to come, Robinson said, though that plan will take several years to see through.

Fire engines and ladder trucks will continue to be volunteer-funded for the time being, Robinson said in August, “that’s why we need to keep supporting the volunteers with our loan program.”

The program will provide a financing option in addition to the county’s existing bond loans, which can also finance building projects.

Robinson estimated Thursday that about 10 projects could already be eligible for the program.

Applications will first go to the Emergency Services Advisory Council, which will evaluate operational needs. The county’s fire loan committee will then review the company’s financial circumstances and recommend loans for approval by the commissioners.

Interest rates will be tied to the county’s investment portfolio and will vary depending on when a company takes out a loan, officials said, though they should offer better rates than companies could find on the private market.

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