With a year’s worth of meetings and planning, along with lessons learned from last year, FASNY supported another dynamic statewide recruitment initiative on the weekend of April 21 and 22, 2012. An updated microsite, RecruitNY.org, provided advice, materials and tools for departments to explore, customize and plan their own event. The website also featured a section that allowed departments to easily enter individual information such as what day(s) they were participating and the contact information for their designated recruitment officer.

By combining FASNY’s planning resources with a remarkable outreach effort involving DKC Communications, ABC Creative Group and the Public Relations and Recruitment and Retention committees, excitement quickly spread across the state. The media was abuzz and the public was starting to realize something big was happening with the volunteer fire service in New York. The message was becoming very clear no matter where you went… volunteer fire department membership was down and new members were needed!

Earlier in the week preceding RecruitNY weekend, I had an experience that opened my eyes as to the magnitude of this great initiative. Riding shotgun in the vehicle known as FASNY 1, chauffeured by FASNY President David Jacobowitz and accompanied by FASNY Director Ken Pienkowski, I found myself witness to the excitement of a man involved in not only this Association’s RecruitNY activities, but in his own department, the Whitesboro Fire Department in Oneida County. To hear him explain his motives and show his passion for the success of this event is an experience I will not forget. Our plan for the day was to travel to Monroe County Community College’s Public Safety Training Center for a 10:00 am Press Conference (the first of five statewide) and visit with FASNY Director David Sweet. We also hoped to meet with local dignitaries and to mingle with the press before heading out to Erie County and the “Land of Tiger,” Tiger Schmittendorf, that is, the Earl of Recruitment.

As Fire Coordinator in Erie County, Tiger and his Erie County Emergency Management Team (headed by Commissioner Dan Neaverth) had arranged to greet us and all travelers entering the region with a series of large, full size billboards advertising the VolunteerNY/RecruitNY campaign. The subsequent press conference was held in a parking lot with I-190 above and behind the podium, which was right in front of one of these large RecruitNY billboards. Like Monroe County, and later in Albany, Nassau and Syracuse, the podiums were surrounded by firefighters in Class A’s, B’s and even full turnout gear. How impressive and effective that must have been to the media and to the public. Another common denominator at most locations was the presence of the County Executive endorsing and supporting the campaign, their local firefighters and the need to successfully recruit new volunteers.

As we left Erie County I detected an air of confidence and pride in our President. This feeling continued to grow as we headed to a special 50 year presentation to Cleveland Volunteer Fire Department Past Chief Jack Cottet at the Oswego County Fire Advisory Board Meeting. It was a well-deserved recognition but also provided President Jacobowitz with another opportunity to promote the RecruitNY initiative to an important group of fire service leaders in Oswego County. In all, our travels that day included 450 miles over a 13-hour period, and while it was a long day, it energized me for the upcoming Syracuse press conference that Recruitment and Retention Chair George Davenport and I had been working on. It also showed me how dedicated our elected and appointed FASNY Officers and Directors are.

So, here’s the name of another individual performing relentless work for FASNY. George Davenport has been speaking for months at various departmental, county and state meetings regarding this initiative. He even stepped up to assist the Public Relations Committee by doing interviews with the press, a television talk show and a live television appearance at 6:30 am during the days prior to RecruitNY weekend. In fact, I can’t wait to see a full report of the media activity that took place for RecruitNY throughout the State on FASNY’s website. It was a tremendous effort by many participating departments; FASNY congratulates them all!

Reports of local activities started flowing onto FASNY’s Facebook page almost immediately on the Saturday of the event weekend and included a lot of photos of apparatus, firefighters and different events going on at fire stations. Members of departments giving their time to educate and just being there to answer questions is a wonderful thing, and can result in a visit from that prospect down the road. It can be compared to the planting of a seed in the spring. We all worked on getting the message out, and you, the fire service, brought potential recruits into your stations with your own great ideas, too.

Having the task of visiting fire stations to write this article, I wondered to myself if I would find any activity at my first station. How lucky could I get? When I arrived at the Camillus Volunteer Fire Department in Onondaga County, I found Chief Doug Groesbeck showing a prospect an application packet beside one of their rigs parked out front and I couldn’t get my camera out fast enough! A few minutes later I was also able to get a photograph of the young lady who was interested in EMS work actually signing her name on the application. Way to go, Chief!

At the Victory Fire Department, Cayuga County Director of Emergency Management Brian Dahl, told about this small rural department who decided at the last minute to join the campaign and ended up with two new applicants who, within two days, had their names submitted to take their Firefighter I course. He also told of another, the Aurelius Volunteer Fire Department who went all out at their station including blood pressure readings, an extrication demo, car seat inspections, onsite interviews with the membership committee to shorten the process, repelling demo, drawings for $50.00 gas cards and a display table outlining FASNY programs for firefighters including the incentives provided. As of press time, we hadn’t heard results, but hope their efforts were rewarded.

Another success story had a bit of ingenuity involved. From the Town of Onondaga in Onondaga County, Chief Harold “Smitty” Smith of the Nedrow Volunteer Fire Department, along with his PIO Firefighter James Emm, approached a youth group from nearby Rockwell Elementary School involved with an Earth Day cleanup in their town. Since the department had a relationship with a refuse company, they made arrangements to provide the refuse truck for their cleanup if they agreed to end their day down at the fire station for their open house. Can you guess what comes with kids? Well, 200 people later (and lots of popcorn and sno-cones for the kids) they ended up with five applicants for their efforts! More proof that you get out of it what you put into it.

Looking around the state, FASNY Associate Volunteer Program Coordinator Wayne Depew visited 11 fire stations in two counties during the campaign and tells of another piece of ingenuity. The Monticello Fire Department had a local radio station “Thunder Country” broadcasting live from the station, offering free hot dogs! Brilliant! Live, FREE on the spot advertising. He also told of the Napanoch Fire Department who had a PowerPoint program running in their engine room. Then there were two other departments, Rosendale and Tillson who combined their efforts and had a joint RecruitNY event at a local recreation center and brought along the equipment they wanted to demonstrate.

Several other FASNY representatives sent in reports of activities they saw that included pancake breakfasts, chicken barbeques, auto extrication drills, fire extinguisher demonstrations, bounce houses, balloons and helicopter landings. My own department, Taunton, constructed a 10 x 8 x 8 burn room, lined with sheetrock and set up as a typical bedroom. Wasn’t everyone very surprised when the television or computer monitor exploded? It really demonstrated the dangers we all face as firefighters! And for a very aggressive idea, the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department in Erie County actually went door to door notifying their residents of the upcoming RecruitNY open house. Lots of effort there!
And through the efforts and contacts of FASNY Public Relations Committee member and Chief of the Frontier Volunteer Fire Department in Niagara County, Bruce Mack, a great post-RecruitNY weekend article appeared in the Monday following the weekend’s Buffalo News. What tremendous exposure we all had from the media!

John D’Alessandro, Deputy Volunteer Programs Coordinator and member of FASNY’s Public Relations team covers the Capital District and beyond. In talking with John, he also reported a rather robust outdoor press conference that attracted four television stations and several print media outlets prior to the weekend. It also attracted a powerful lineup of speakers including FASNY First Vice President Jim Burns, FASNY CAO David Quinn and Deputy State Fire Administrator William Davis.

Throughout the weekend almost 40 fire departments participated around the Capital District. Many of them picked up needed recruits including four at the Halfmoon Fire Department. The overall feeling was that in addition to getting recruits, the event enabled fire departments to re-connect with the citizens they serve. This goes right in line with what program organizers say they hoped RecruitNY would be: an opportunity to not only highlight the rewards and responsibilities of being a volunteer firefighter but also raise public awareness about the need for volunteers.

Rob Leonard, Chairman of FASNY’s Public Relations Committee and a Captain in the Syosset Volunteer Fire Department, coordinated the press conference held in Nassau County. He utilized the Nassau County Firefighters Museum on Museum Row in Uniondale for his stage, a fitting testimony for the appeal firefighters were about to deliver. FASNY Second Vice President Robert McConville, Suffolk County Commissioner of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Joe Williams, the County Executives from Nassau and Suffolk and a lineup of fire chiefs, directors and others informed the media and requested their help in getting the word out. Not a difficult job in Suffolk County who was recent witness to a massive wildfire incident that utilized much of the fire service just the week before.

Before we close out RecruitNY 2012, we must take care of one more piece of business. Each department who gained recruits, now or weeks or months from now, needs to fill out a Volunteer Profile Form and send it to FASNY.  We need this information to help us fulfill our SAFER grant performance goals.  The form can be found on the FASNY website. Please canvas any future members if they had heard about the RecruitNY activities.

Once again, a heartfelt thanks to everyone who gave their time and energy to make RecruitNY 2012 a huge success. You can go to FASNY’s Facebook page to post results, photos, comments and ideas for RecruitNY 2013.

Got some cool photos from your RecruitNY open house event? Share them with members of the volunteer fire service community online either through the FASNY Facebook page (facebook.com/fasnyVF) or Photobucket!

For Photobucket: Visit: http://www.photobucket.com/recruitny, log in using your Photobucket or Facebook account and click “Upload now.” Please include a caption telling us what department and county are featured in the photo.

Thank you to all of the fire departments across the state who participated in RecruitNY for making this year’s event such a huge success!

The New York State Emergency Services Revolving Loan Account was established under section 97-pp of the State Finance Law to make loans available to cities, villages, fire districts, counties, towns and not-for-profit fire or ambulance corporations at an annual fixed interest rate of 2.5 percent. Principal and interest payments made by loan recipients are deposited in the Revolving Loan Account to fund future loans to new applicants.

Loan applications may be submitted in the following categories for funding up to the amount indicated:

1. Firefighting apparatus: $225,000 or 75 % of cost, whichever is less.
2. Ambulances or rescue vehicles: $150,000 or 75 % of cost, whichever is less.
3. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and/or communications equipment: Not to exceed $100,000 for either category, individually or combined.
4. Repair of firefighting apparatus, ambulances, or rescue vehicles: $75,000 or 100 % of cost, whichever is less.
5. Accessory equipment: Not to exceed $75,000.
6. Renovation, rehabilitation, or repair of facilities that house firefighting equipment, ambulances, rescue vehicles, and related equipment: $150,000 or 75 percent of cost, whichever is less.
7. Construction costs of facilities that house firefighting equipment, ambulances, rescue vehicles, and related equipment: $300,000 or 75 percent of cost, whichever is less (may not be used for designs, planning, applications, or other costs not directly related to land purchase or facility construction).
8. Construction costs associated with the establishment of facilities for the purpose of live fire training: $150,000 or 75 percent of cost, whichever is less.

The Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) must give  preference to applications that demonstrate the greatest need and to those that will be applied toward attaining compliance with federal and state laws. Loan approvals must be equally distributed among all sectors of the emergency services community and all geographic areas of the state. At least 50 percent of loans must be awarded to applicants whose fire protection or ambulance service members are exclusively volunteers and whose fire department or ambulance service budget for the previous year is no more than $100,000. Loan requests to pay off existing loans, financing charges, or lease agreements will not be considered. This is a procurement program and is not to be used for   reimbursement of costs already incurred. Applicants may only apply in one category, and no applicant shall receive a loan more than once in any five-year period.

Additional information is available here:
http://www.dhses.ny.gov/ofpc/services/loan/index.cfm

Winners in this video contest will be part of a first-of-its-kind, statewide advertising campaign across all forms of media this summer to aid firefighter recruitment.

The submission deadline for video entries is Friday, April 13. Winners will be notified by April 18, and if chosen, filming is scheduled to begin at the end of April in Central New York.

For further contest details, visit http://www.fasny.com/castingcall/.

This campaign was made possible by a $4.2 million U.S. Department of Homeland Security Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant awarded to FASNY last year, which has been allocated to FASNY’s multi-pronged firefighter recruitment and retention effort.

Winners in this video contest will be part of a first-of-its-kind, statewide advertising campaign — designed by Syracuse based ABC Creative Group — which will roll out across all forms of media this summer.

The submission deadline for video entries is Friday, April 13. Winners will be notified by April 18, and if chosen, filming is scheduled to begin at the end of April in Central New York.

For further details, visit:

This campaign was made possible by a $4.2 Million U.S. Department of Homeland Security Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant awarded to FASNY last year, which has been allocated to FASNY’s multi-pronged firefighter recruitment and retention effort.

But there is little time to waste.

Video highlights may be submitted by smartphone or webcam no later than April 13.

Winners will be notified by April 18, with those selected being able to participate in filming at the end of the month in Central New York.

Winners in the video contest will be part of a first-of-its-kind, statewide advertising campaign designed by Syracuse-based ABC Creative Group that will roll out across all forms of media this summer.

The submission deadline for video entries is Friday, April 13.

This campaign was made possible by a $4.2 Million U.S. Department of Homeland Security Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant.

Winners will be notified by April 18, and if chosen, filming is scheduled to begin at the end of April in Central New York. For more details, go to http://www.fasny.com/castingcall.

Winners in this video contest will be part of a first-of-its-kind, statewide advertising campaign which will roll out across all forms of media this summer.

The submission deadline for video entries is Friday, April 13. Winners will be notified by April 18, and if chosen, filming is scheduled to begin at the end of April in Central New York. Please see link for further details: http://www.fasny.com/castingcall/

In 2011, the policy was utilized three times for the benefit of association members and their families. As the name implies, the Accidental Death and Dismemberment policy is there for the individual firefighter and his or her family’s protection. None of us want to see the benefits of this policy implemented, but it is after all a dangerous business we are in. Let’s all keep in mind that it is our safety that we must protect and the needs of our members and their families.

One of the many items to remember is that this is a 24/7 policy. This policy covers you as a FASNY member 24 hours a day, and the AD&D benefit is doubled when you are on  emergency duty as a firefighter or as an EMS responder. Please make a note to tell your family of this policy, as it remains in effect as long as you are a FASNY member. If your membership lapses, the policy becomes null and void.

Question: If my department or district already has an AD&D policy with Provident, does that policy remain in effect or go away?

Answer: If your department or district already has an AD&D policy in effect with Provident, it remains in effect as long as its premium is paid. Your FASNY AD&D policy would supplement this. Both policies would pay off at that point. Again, you must
make yourselves aware of what is being provided for you by your department or district.

Question: Do I have to name a beneficiary?

Answer: In most instances the named beneficiary follows the New York State Insurance Department designations in a sequence i.e., spouse, child or children, parents, sisters/brothers and, finally, the estate of the insured. If this is agreeable to your wishes, then you do not have to do anything further. If you wish to change your beneficiary or deviate from the above, then you must fill out a form changing your beneficiary. These forms are available on our website, or you can contact Provident and they will help you make the change.

Question: Can I opt out of this policy?

Answer: The FASNY AD&D policy is contingent on the full enrollment of all FASNY  members with Provident. Therefore, all of our members must automatically be enrolled in  the policy. Having all of our members enrolled keeps the costs manageable while ensuring  all our members will have access to this benefit if they ever need it.

It has become clear to FASNY that our members view this policy as a true benefit of  FASNY membership. We know that it will continue to be a good product for our   membership and to provide a bit of monetary protection for the families of our injured and deceased firefighters.

Ladies and gentlemen, I wish you all the best in 2012, and please work safely.