By Emma Ralls
The Saratogian
MECHANICVILLE, N.Y. —The Firefighters Association of the State of New York (FASNY) officially kicked off its annual recruitment campaign, RecruitNY, at the Hillcrest Fire Station this week.
This will be the 14th year the open house weekend will take place, with local fire stations across the state opening their doors and welcoming the community to see what they do.
RecruitNY Weekend will see firehouses across New York State open their doors to the public to attract new volunteers. Through demonstrations and tours, as well as getting to know the men and women who work within the departments, FASNY and local agencies hope to drive up recruitment to help better serve their communities.
“RecruitNY is a good opportunity for people in the community to reconnect with their fire department and for people who have even the slightest interest to go take a few moments at their local fire station and investigate what it takes to become a volunteer firefighter,” FASNY Secretary John D’Alessandro said at the press conference. “While every department in New York, from Long Island to Plattsburgh, from Albany to Buffalo, can use more men and women, there is a significant challenge that many departments locally are facing.
“Many counties here in the Capital District are putting in a lot of effort and seeing some great results in attracting new members.”
D’Alessandro also touched on the lack of awareness of how many volunteer firefighter stations there truly are throughout the state. People think they may understand because they watch media depictions such as Chicago Fire and Backdraft and other such programs, many believe that is what it is like at their local station, but what they don’t realize is that 90% of the fire departments in NYS are volunteer.
Hillcrest Fire Chief Robert Cournoyer also spoke about the misconception as to what a volunteer firefighter looks like and emphasized the importance of the RecruitNY event — especially since his department got five new members last year from the open house, several of whom said they always wanted to stop and find out more, but just didn’t know when to do it.
“They’re your neighbors, they’re doctors, there are lawyers, they’re construction workers, they’re highway workers, they’re everybody in the neighborhood, and therefore we need to get that message out,” Cournoyer explained. “Don’t let the misconception of the building we have, the vehicles we drive, lead you to think that we’re a paid organization because we’re not volunteers. I can’t stress how important it is to come out this weekend and check out your local fire department. Find out when they’re having an open house, or just stop by on a regular night when you see a car there and introduce yourself.”
Mike Stanley , Saratoga County Fire Coordinator, spoke a bit about how fire services throughout the state are struggling to recruit and retain members for reasons such as the long hours and significant training requirements, but he highlighted that the need has never been greater for volunteers. One way Saratoga County has tried to drive up recruitment is through a “Roll With Us Campaign,” a social media campaign designed to focus on spreading the word about how important and rewarding the fire service can be while encouraging people to volunteer with their local fire company.
“Since the campaign started, we’ve had nearly 100 submissions through our website from those seeking more information about volunteering,”Stanley said. “Volunteer firefighters in communities across Saratoga County, especially in smaller towns and rural areas, are often the first line of defense in an emergency. They’re our neighbors, our coworkers, our friends, and they step up when it matters most.
“Whether it’s a house fire accident, a flood, or a medical emergency, these individuals drop everything to respond, often putting their safety on the line to protect others. And they do not do it for the money or the accolades — they do it for the camaraderie of the first responder community, for the challenge and the opportunity for personal growth, and to give back to the community they love.”
Rensselaer County Bureau of Public Safety Jay Wilson touched on the fact that departments within his county are getting the older guys to stick around and stay longer, but struggle to attract younger people in the fire service. One way his county is hoping to combat that and attract fresh faces is through an emphasis on training, noting that they recently built a state-of-the-art training facility where they can do more efficient live burns.
“Training is one of the hardest things we see in the fire service, the time commitment we’re asking volunteers to be there and train — back in the old days, we had to go find furniture in the street and materials to burn to get our live burns in for our firefighters, but now we’re able to do more efficient burns, we’re able to do a lot more burns, making the firefighters more comfortable with the live fire and understand how fire burns,” Wilson said.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Renssel, Saratoga County , or anywhere in New York State, we are struggling with getting volunteers to join. We need to think outside the box and try different things, or different ways, to bring the younger people into our departments. Our training facilities worked out very well for us.”
Another facet of the event is also demonstrating that there is a wealth of opportunities within a volunteer fire department. It goes beyond actually going out and putting out fires; there is also a need for administrative staff to assist in running the department.
“There is a job for you in the volunteer fire service. It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, big or small, young or old — there are numerous opportunities for everyone in the community to become part of their Volunteer Fire Service.” D’Alessandro said. “We encourage anyone who has the slightest little bit of interest, has some time that they can contribute, and any kind of skill set.”
Throughout the weekend, 11 fire agencies in Saratoga County and 15 agencies in Rensselaer County will be participating and holding open houses. For a full list of participating fire services and more information on the RecruitNY initiative, visit https://www.recruitny.org.
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