Lewes Fire Department seeks more county funds as EMS at risk of ending

Lewes fire and emergency medical services officials are appealing to Sussex County Council for more funds, saying they are on the verge of halting EMS services due to the demands and cost of protecting a mushrooming population.

Fire and EMS leaders issued the warning in a letter to council dated March 6.

“We are reaching out to reiterate the urgent concerns we shared with the council and administration six years ago regarding the inadequacy of funding for our fire and emergency medical services,” reads the letter signed by Lewes Fire Department President A. Wallace Evans, Fire Chief William H. Buckaloo and EMS Chief Beau Fibelkorn.

“Unfortunately, the funding levels have not increased sufficiently to meet the escalating demands and costs associated with providing these critical services to the community,” the letter continued.

Fire and EMS officials pointed to the increase in calls for assistance in the past seven years. There were 1,147 fire calls in 2024, up from 763 in 2018; and 6,442 EMS calls in 2024, compared with 4,277 in 2018. That amounts to about a 50% increase between fire and EMS. On a typical day, the department responds to 21 calls.

In response to the increased need, the number of paid career staff was increased from 17 to 25, raising operating costs from $1,043,263 to $2,378,124, according to the letter.

Fewer than 50 volunteer firefighters help cover the district that spans more than 56 square miles, Buckaloo said March 12.

The Lewes Fire Department’s budget is funded by contributions from the county and state, grants and donations, some of them from fundraisers. Federal spending cuts have placed grants in jeopardy, he said. He did not immediately have a breakdown of funding sources.

The rising costs have resulted in $500,000 annual deficits for the past two years, out of a budget that totals about $4.1 million, Buckaloo said. The department has had to use money from the firefighting side of its budget to bridge the gap, which is unsustainable, he said.

“All these cornfields have been turned into developments,” Buckaloo said. “They approve the developments but don’t increase our funding.”

Fire officials from Lewes and Rehoboth Beach met about two weeks ago with Sussex County Councilwoman Jane Gruenebaum, whose legislative district covers much of those two fire districts.

Gruenebaum said March 12 she is not yet ready to take a position on the request for more funds, but she understands the demands placed on the fire department and the importance of council addressing the issue soon. 

“The growth that’s happened because of the rapid development that’s been concentrated in the eastern part of the county has put a stress on the fire departments,” Gruenebaum said. “We need to look at the way we fund the fire departments.”

It will be an issue as the county prepares its 2026 budget, she said.

“This will be a critical part of it, but there are a lot of demands on the council,” Gruenebaum said.

In a March 13 statement, Michael Simpler, president of the Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company, said his department faces the same challenges as Lewes Fire Department.

“Like most of the volunteer fire companies in eastern Sussex County, we have seen a dramatic increase in new homes in our district and are experiencing an increase in our call volume,” Simpler said. “We have not taken a position on the letter until our leadership and our membership addresses it at our regular meeting [April 2].”

It was unclear what would happen if Lewes Fire Department discontinued EMS.

“Someone would have to come in and take over,” Buckaloo said. “The neighboring fire departments can’t handle that strain.”

Sussex County paramedics provide advanced life support ambulance service, while fire department ambulances provide basic life support.

Even with current services, there is a struggle to handle demand, and neighboring EMS providers and Sussex County EMS routinely help each other, Buckaloo said. Lewes staffs three ambulances around the clock, while Milton, Rehoboth Beach and Mid-Sussex Rescue Squad each staff two.

It is not unusual for Lewes to handle five or six calls at a time, relying on other departments to handle some of them, Buckaloo said. Or Lewes is called in when another department’s ambulances are all out on calls. 

“It’s a chain reaction,” he said.

Loss of paid Lewes EMS staff would also hinder the department’s firefighting abilities, because they are cross-trained as firefighters and can serve in either role. The staff is available to quickly respond to fire calls, rather than having to wait for volunteers.

And some of those volunteers are taking longer to arrive, as the rapidly rising cost of housing has forced them to move farther from Lewes, where houses are cheaper, according to the fire department’s letter to council.

“We urgently need your assistance,” the letter states. “Please consider this letter as formal notice that without a substantial increase in funding – specifically to address our deficit in the upcoming fiscal year budget ... we will be forced to initiate the process of dissolving our EMS service. We have not committed to this decision lightly, as our mission is to deliver these critical services; however, the department has been left with no other choice and has unanimously voted to initiate the process.” 

The budget request comes as the state is conducting a study of funding for EMS services in Sussex County.

Buckaloo said the department could not wait for the results. “We know what it’s going to say. They’re way behind in their funding.”