Harford County (Map, News) - Harford County’s 2008 budget will include nearly 50 percent more funding for the county’s volunteer fire and ambulance services — mostly to supplement volunteer ambulance crews with paid professionals.

Almost $2 million will be included in Harford’s proposed $970 million budget to go toward keeping paid ambulance drivers and emergency medical technicians on duty around the clock in the county’s most developed areas, while more rural areas will get additional paid personnel on duty 12 hours each day, County Executive David Craig said.

“The idea is to put one quick-response team of two paramedics … in the northern end of the county from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week,” said Harford County Fire and EMS Foundation President Tom Schaech. The two paid paramedics will get a fully equipped Chevy Suburban truck and will be on call to assist volunteer ambulance crews in rural areas such as Whiteford, he said.

The total operating budget for the county’s volunteer fire companies is proposed to be $8.4 million for 2008 — a 43 percent increase over 2007’s funding. Some of that increase will also pay for the growing costs of gas, electricity and equipment.

More of the additional $2 million will go toward paying the salaries of paramedics and drivers already on duty around the county. The foundation had been paying the bill, but the county is taking over some of those expenses, Schaech said.

Fire companies in Joppa-Magnolia, Bel Air and Abingdon already have medical staff on duty 24/7; Level and Fallston have them available during the day seven days a week; and Fallston has a paid daytime staff five days a week.

Calls for more paid drivers and personnel were revived this year when the fire death of an Abingdon family spurred criticism of response times and the lack of a trained driver on duty at the nearest fire station.

“Our challenges have mainly been in EMS, so that’s been where we’re focusing,” Schaech said. “This administration has been very forward-thinking in facing the challenges of growth, even before [Base Realignment and Closure] growth gets here.”

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com