Westminster Fire Engine & Hose Co No 1 Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
520527635
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2024
Location
Westminster, MD, USA
Phone
4108481800
Rating
78
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Fire Prevention

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$1,176,353
Expenses
$1,174,387
Assets
$6,917,831
Liabilities
$464,377

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

10 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DAN PLUNKERT (PRESIDENT)

People named in this filing

  • DAN PLUNKERT (PRESIDENT)
  • JEFF LEPPERT (CHIEF)
  • BRYAN VAN FOSSEN (1ST VICE PRE)

Selected names, not a complete roster or a statement of current roles. Open leadership details for the complete filed list.

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The westminster volunteer fire department provides high-quality emergency services to protect life and property through prevention, preparedness, and response, working in partnership with its members, local government, and the community it serves.

What it reported doing in 2024

The westminster volunteer fire department provides essential emergency response, fire suppression, rescue services, and community-based prevention and outreach programs to protect life and property. In 2025, the department responded to more than 7,000 calls for service, the highest call volume in the county, while continuing to improve response times and increase personnel responding to incidents. A total of 55 active volunteers responded to over 4,900 incidents, with the most active members handling more than 68% of all calls. Volunteers completed more than 1,900 hours of training and continuing education to maintain operational readiness. In addition to emergency response, the department provides fire prevention education, public safety outreach, and youth development programs, including its junior firefighter program. The department participates in community events such as national night out, camp cops, and the carroll county 4-h fair, providing education on fire prevention, emergency preparedness, and life safety. These combined efforts strengthen community safety, improve emergency readiness, and support the long-term sustainability of volunteer emergency services.

Operating model

Revenue model
Grant-funded. 66% of the money available for current operations came from government grants.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - A large share of available resources goes toward mission work and the filed numbers largely add up. Some filing-based governance responses are negative or unanswered and program spending has declined or grown slowly.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 79
  • Transparency & Controls: 92
  • Accountability: 82
  • Sustainability: 58
  • Growth: 0

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 79.6%; rating input score 80
  • Program expense ratio: 75%; rating input score 75
  • Fundraising efficiency: $68.06 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 82; 82nd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: Limited
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 4 of 7 controls in place; rating input score 57
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Fail
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Missing
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Fail

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: 0.2%; rating input score 36; 36th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 5.89; rating input score 87; 87th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.07; rating input score 48; 48th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 0%; rating input score 81; 81st percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: -4.7% per year; rating input score 0; 8th percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.2% per year; rating input score 0; 9th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: -1.7% per year; rating input score 0; 13th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 79.6% of revenue deployed · 75% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 9 of 9 board members independent · 4 of 7 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 1 filed program accomplishment · $880K in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $0 · 10 people listed
  • Consistency: 27 of 27 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 5 filed schedules · includes major donors
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: Resolved incoming and outgoing counterparties from filed money flows.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.
  • Staff and benefit plans: Retirement and health plans the organization files with the Department of Labor, and the people in them.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Review — Accountability: Governance controls: 2 of 6 not reported.
  • High — Growth: Program expense growth scored 0/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 36/100.
  • High — Growth: Asset growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Liabilities to assets ratio scored 48/100.