First respondersNew York firefighters receive $4.2 million to recruit volunteers
Last week the Fireman’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) announced that it had received a $4.2 million grant from DHS to help recruit and train volunteers; the money comes as part of DHS’ Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program; FASNY will use the grant money to launch a public awareness campaign with the goal of attracting and maintaining more than 15,000 new volunteer firefighters over the next four years; approximately 75 percent of New York’s firefighters are volunteers, but the state has struggled to attract enough people in recent years
FInding volunteers has been increasingly difficult // Source: livingindryden.org
Last week the Fireman’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) announced that it had received a $4.2 million grant from DHS to help recruit and train volunteers.
The money comes as part of DHS’ Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program which is designed to ensure that local fire departments are adequately trained and staffed to respond to emergencies. FASNY will use the grant money to launch a public awareness campaign with the goal of attracting and maintaining more than 15,000 new volunteer firefighters over the next four years.
In announcing the grant, Senator Chuck Schumer (D – New York) said, “This federal money will help FASNY launch a critical campaign to recruit and train thousands of new firefighters over the next four years.”
The senator added, “These funds will guarantee that fire departments throughout New York are well-staffed, and capable of quickly and safely responding to emergencies. The people of New York can sleep easier tonight knowing that their volunteer fire departments have additional resources to continue their life-saving work.”
Approximately 75 percent of New York’s firefighters are volunteers, but the state has struggled to attract enough people in recent years. But FASNY President Jacobowitz is optimistic that the organization will reach their goal.
“We fully realize the needs of volunteer fire service across the state and are confident that our over 100 years of experience and continued support of all the New York State Fire Service Organizations will produce a nationally significant recruitment and retention effort to turn the declining volunteer fire department membership numbers around,” he said.
To bolster recruitment efforts, FASNY will offer a college tuition reimbursement to encourage students to volunteer with their local fire departments.
The idea for the program comes from Rockland County, New York which used its SAFER grant to successfully create a tuition re-imbursement program that currently assists more than 2,200 volunteer firefighters attend community colleges.
Like Rockland County, the FASNY reimbursement program will pay for eligible volunteer firefighters to attend New York’s community colleges improving both public safety and encouraging education.
More than 47,000 square miles and 9.8 million people are protected by New York’s 1,740 volunteer fire squads comprised of nearly 89,000 firefighters.
