PRINCETON —  A proposal that could allow felons to serve on West Virginia’s volunteer fire departments had the leader of one local department hot Wednesday.

“I don’t like it at all. As a matter of fact, I sent the fire marshal’s office something on it today,” East River Volunteer Fire Department Chief Nelson Short said. “These firefighters are people that go into your home, and you have to have to trust in them. They’re in there when you’re not.”

Senate Bill 697 would allow the West Virginia Fire Commission, upon petition by the state fire marshal’s office, to waive rules prohibiting felons from joining volunteer fire departments. The bill, in its current state, would still forbid felons convicted of crimes involving violence, explosives, arson, embezzlement or a child victim to join the VFD ranks.

Supporters of the measure argue that it will help volunteer squads struggling to recruit and retain qualified members to increase their numbers and maintain departments to serve rural, often remote, communities. On the other hand, opponents still say firefighters of any kind ought to be the most dependable people possible.

“I think the Legislature’s got more to worry about than putting felons on the volunteer fire departments,” Short affirmed again Wednesday. “I just totally do not agree with it, and you can quote me on that.”

Other departments were somewhat less opposed, provided the fire marshal’s research team would be required to conduct a thorough background check and make as sure as possible that the applicant would not pose a threat to anyone involved.

“I guess it would depend a lot on who they are and what they’ve been convicted of. If they were repeat offenders at all, I would be extremely against the proposal,” Green Valley-Glenwood Chief Dave Thompson said. “If somebody has made a mistake and paid their penalty and lived right since then, I wouldn’t have a problem with it.”

Thompson said he would also rely heavily on the review process already in place at Green Valley-Glenwood, in which each firefighter already goes through a 90-day probationary period, and then the department membership must vote on whether to accept the new applicant.

• Short and Thompson agreed that the state should do something to make volunteering more attractive, even if the current plan would not have been their first choice.

Both suggested some sort of financial incentive to cut back on expenses volunteers shell out of their own pockets.

“I’m sure there’s money in this program somewhere to fund the background checks. Why not take that money and give it to the state firefighters  for recruitment?” Short asked.

He cited the 130 hours of classes and training time his men put in before they are eligible to be at a fire scene. Either the department or the firefighter must fund that training, and it gets expensive.

Once they’re on the force, Thompson pointed out that volunteer firefighters drive their personal cars, pay for their own fuel, miss time at their jobs and give up time with their families, all without compensation of any kind.

Thompson touted plans that would provide a Length of Service award, or sort of retirement fund, for long-term volunteers or a tax break on the personal vehicle used in service, but he said any financial incentive would help.

“Giving us anything would be more than what we’re getting right now,” he said.

— Contact Tammie Toler at ttoler@ptonline.net.