Montgomery County Emergency Operations Center Director Allan Pratt discussed a new state volunteer firefighter retention program during a Board of Supervisors meeting on Monday.
“It’s called the LOSAP program. It’s Length of Service Award Program,” said Pratt.
National LOSAP is defined as “a system established to provide tax-deferred income benefits to active volunteer members of an emergency service organization,” according to the LOSAP website.
Pratt went on to say, “The state’s doing it, and it’s because they’re trying to get recruitment and retention. They’re trying to get younger people to do it and keep people on.”
LOSAP is being implemented in Montgomery County as a decision made by the State LOSAP Board of Trustees Award Program Board of Trustees in collaboration with the Mississippi Department of Insurance Department/State Fire Coordinators Office.
“The Board of Trustees is ultimately responsible for implementing any rules and regulations as necessary to administer the program,” said Pratt in an interview.
He said the State is offering LOSAP to all active volunteer fire departments in Mississippi due to the difficulty in keeping volunteer firefighters.
“This is a state and nationwide problem. Some of the reasons are people work out-of-town. They work jobs that they can’t leave to respond to a fire incident,” said Pratt.
One factor he shared with the Board is the fact that many volunteer firefighters have fought fires for 20 years or more and are considering leaving the service.
Approximately 80 volunteers fight fires in the county and to be considered for the program, they must meet requirements, Pratt said.
“Volunteers serving on a Mississippi volunteer, paid and/or combination department are only eligible if that department is compliant and current on annual reports, incident reports and the use/reporting of State rebate funds,” said Pratt.
Because Mississippi is implementing the program, LOSAP is state funded, requiring no financial assistance from the county.
