Looking Toward the Future - Fire and EMS Services in the Wildwoods - Existing Conditions and Options for Change

In 2021, CGR was engaged by the City of North Wildwood to conduct a study on the fire and EMS services in North Wildwood and the City of Wildwood as well as the EMS service Wildwood Crest. The study found that the community has an average of 17 calls for service per day but that nearly doubles to 30.5 during the peak tourist season. The departments are all well equipped to handle the type and volume of calls and have recently expanded their paid staff to meet the needs of community. The departments face challenges with maintaining their fleet, with hiring paid staff (particularly EMTs and seasonal employees) and integrating volunteers into their workforces. While a merger of departments did not appear advantageous at this time, there were multiple recommendations to improve the operations including reviewing the exchange of aid, reducing the off peak EMS staffing, consider merging EMS and fire dispatch to Cape May County and reducing the use of lights and sirens only to true emergencies.

Report Date: Dec 2021
Author(s): Paul Bishop , Michael Silva , David Riley
Subject(s): Public Safety , Shared Services/Consolidation , Government Reorganization/Dissolution
Location: New Jersey, New Jersey

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