The NYS Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Coalition represents the entire spectrum of EMS providers in New York State. We fully support Governor Cuomo’s efforts to improve efficiency and accountability and reduce waste in NY government. The work of the SAGE Commission to redesign Public Health Law Article 30 wholeheartedly seeks to achieve these ends at the State and Regional EMS levels.

Years of experience, decades of change and previous redesigns have demonstrated that the participation and involvement of physicians at the local, regional, and state levels is imperative for the efficient and effective operation of any EMS system or service. Physician medical directors must continue to be afforded a seat in oversight, operations, and policy making at all levels of our NY State EMS system.

The changes to Public Health Law affecting EMS are substantial and significantly change the oversight and delivery of EMS. In the best interests of uninterrupted public safety and to assure a smooth transition to a more efficient system, the NYS EMS Coalition recommends that changes to PHL Article 30 take effect no less than 180 days after passage into law.

Representation of Rural EMS is critical for service delivery in NY State. The NYS EMS Coalition recommends that Rural EMS be explicitly allocated a voice in regional and state level decision making processes. This could be accomplished by strategically aligning one of the proposed six EMS Advisory Boards to serve as the voice of Rural EMS Care or by adding extra EMS Advisory Boards so as to assure a redistricting that would not consolidate all of New York’s rural areas into Advisory Boards composed of predominantly urban neighbors.

We applaud the continued recognition of funding priority for EMS Training at the EMT Basic level. This represents the most important entry-level ambulance provider in our EMS system. We recommend that equal priority be afforded to First Responder training. Certified First Responders (or Emergency Medical Responders) arrive before ambulances in many areas of NY, providing lifesaving care and treatment. Funding for First Responders is also a priority for New York’s MS system. Quite frankly, the strong work of our legislature in funding EMS training at all levels, from First Responder through Paramedic, has directly lowered health care costs for all New Yorkers over the past two decades.

Finally, as EMS professionals, the members of the NYS EMS Coalition stand ready to assist in any way needed to assure a smooth, coordinated and deliberate transition to a more effective EMS system. We respectfully request a meeting to provide input and support as we begin this important step into the future.

Right now, the 18-year-old spends most of his time working toward earning a college degree. Barrie is studying criminal justice at Clinton Community College.

“It’s motivation to get my career going, get started on the right track, and without debt when I leave college,” Barie said.

He doesn’t have to pay tuition for college thanks to the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York Higher Education Learning Plan, known as FASNY HELP.

“It’s a reimbursement program that can offset up to 100 percent of tuition at a local community college that is within 50 miles of their homes,” explained Chuck Kostyk of the Clinton County Firefighters Association.

The FASNY HELP tuition reimbursement program is funded through a $4 million grant from Homeland Security to help volunteer fire departments retain and recruit members.

“It requires commitment on the part of the student; they have to remain active in the fire department while in school. There’s also a commitment form that they have to sign and maintain that commitment up to four years after they obtain their degree,” Kostyk said.

The volunteers’ grades in the classroom determine how much money they receive toward their education.

“The reimbursement is based on grade-point average; there is a decreasing scale from 100 percent to 75 percent reimbursement,” Kostyk said.

Barie says the program has covered almost all of his tuition, which is $1,800 a semester. And it has helped him choose a career path in life, since volunteer firefighting is only part time.

“It’s made me feel like a lot more goals I can succeed now,” he said.

So far, Barie is just one of four volunteers taking advantage of the program in Clinton and Essex counties. Fire departments hope it keeps growing.

Click here for more on the FASNY HELP tuition reimbursement program. The deadline is Feb. 15.

Phoenix Firecamp, established by Fire Service Women of New York State in 2007, is a weeklong overnight firematics camp designed to introduce young women to opportunities in fire and emergency services. 97 girls, ages 14-19, from eight U.S. states and Canada have graduated and well over half are currently involved in fire and/or emergencies services in their municipalities.

Lt. Schermerhorn-Collins is a 15 year veteran of the FDNY. Hired in 1996, she served as a firefighter in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island as part of the former FDNY rotation program. She was promoted to fire lieutenant in 2005 and became the first woman fire officer assigned to the Bronx Borough Command. After working in a variety of firehouses throughout the north Bronx and upper Manhattan as a covering officer, Lt. Schermerhorn-Collins was officially assigned to Engine Company 93 in Washington Heights in December, 2006, where she continues to serve today with pride.

The 8th annual Fire Service Legislative Breakfast was held at the Deerfield Fire House.

The event offers a chance for area fire chiefs and other fire personnel to talk first hand with local elected officials about their concerns and their hope is that maybe these talks can lead to some changes in legislation that will benefit area fire departments.

Firemen’s Association of the State of New York President David Jacobowitz said, “Hopefully the firefighters and the legislators have a chance to talk to each other, so that they leave with a better education, a better knowledge of what’s going on in the fire service, county wide, sectional wide and stat wide.”

Congressman Richard Hanna (R-24) attended the breakfast Saturday morning, according to his office schedule.

The Fireman’s Association of the State of New York along with local Senators and Assembly representatives took a close look at several issues, including health care and a 911 surcharge distribution.

FASNY is pushing a nine-item legislative agenda for 2012 all issues that would making working environments safer and extend benefits for those who voluntarily protect our neighborhoods.

Leaders of FASNY said this annual outreach program has become a major success over the past several years.

David Jacobowitz, FASNY President said, “It works very well with us, we’ve done this for probably the last eight years or so, and it works. It allows us to gather support because let’s say a firefighter from West Carthage supports it, and a local representative hears that, he says OK, I’m with you guys and let me see what I can do about getting that passed. “

Download the Youth Group of the Year Award Application

In other news, the Youth in the Fire Service Committee’s first ever texting campaign was a tremendous success. The concept of the campaign was to engage our youth fire service organization members to become more actively involved in FASNY. Three prizes were awarded: an IPod Touch for first place, a flip video camera for second and a FASNY jacket for third. It is important to note that all of the winners entered the contest while attending a FASNY sponsored youth event or other junior or Explorer event. We are proud to announce our winners for this year’s campaign: First place went to Elizabeth “Lizzy” Spencer of the Wantagh Fire Department, Nassau County; second place went to Michelle Magee of the Fairville Fire Department, Wayne County; and third place went to Alan Coughlin of the Frontier Fire Department, Niagara County.

Congratulations to our 2011 Texting Campaign winners! Please be on the lookout for the 2012 contest. All of us from the Youth in the Fire Service Committee look forward to seeing everyone once again at the fourth annual Youth Day training exercise during the
2012 FASNY Convention to be held on August 16th, 2012 at the Syracuse Fire Department Training Academy.

To help address this issue, FASNY created and launched the RecruitNY campaign last April in 2011. Hopefully this rings a bell for you and your department was able to draw in some great new recruits from the event. If your department did not participate last year, this is your year to get involved.

As you may or may not remember, the campaign’s objective was primarily to implement a statewide recruitment initiative during National Volunteer Week in April 2011. This new approach saw FASNY, the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs, Association of Fire Districts of New York State, Volunteer Fire Police Association of the State of New York and County Fire Coordinators Association of the State of New York all join forces to assist fire departments in expanding their recruitment efforts. This was a first-of-its-kind type of effort and a very successful one, at that.

It took a strong effort by FASNY to get the word out about the campaign, but fortunately, for the most part, it caught on like wild fire. In the months leading up to RecruitNY weekend, April 9th and 10th, hundreds of fire departments from all areas of the state accessed recruitment resources, signage, communication tools, and tips via FASNY’s special recruitment-geared website, www.recruitny.org, to help them conduct their open house.

Besides e-communications, informative postcards, online banner ads and targeted use of social media, another critical component of FASNY’s community outreach was establishing a partnership with Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes and Stewart’s Shops across the state. As part of this partnership, Nice N Easy and Stewart’s printed out and hung up banners in their store windows to spread the message and encourage people to attend the event and volunteer at their local department. This certainly boosted public awareness as Nice N Easy has 80 stores in upstate New York and Stewart’s Shops has over 300 locations in 30 counties across New York. We plan to capitalize on this partnership again this year, if possible, and perhaps expand to even more local shops.

The first RecruitNY event was very effective in most parts of the state. 53 out of the 62 counties in New York State participated, more than 150 media outlets were reached, and stories of this event infiltrated the web and news stations.

This year, we want every fire department in New York State to open their doors to
the public on April 21st and 22nd, 2012.

This year’s RecruitNY event is scheduled for April 21st and 22nd as part of National
Volunteer Week, April 15th – 21st, and you better believe FASNY is back at it, ramping
up efforts to make this second annual event even bigger and more successful. We’ve
heard what everyone has said regarding the strengths and weaknesses of last year’s event and we’ve taken that feedback to adjust and modify the campaign as needed to be more efficient this year. Preparations for RecruitNY 2012 are in full swing.

We’re unveiling a new look for the downloadable “Volunteer NY” signage available to departments through www.recruitny.org, we’ve created our custom landing page on FASNY’s Facebook page and have devised other social media plans, and our e-communications strategy is set in place. We are again offering promotional items on the site such as helpful checklists of items to consider when planning for and hosting your open house. We want to remind departments that all of the materials and signage are customizable – you just need to take the files to your local print shop to have your individual event details added. It’s that easy.

FASNY is hoping through the revamped communications and promotions that are part of our plan of attack for 2012 that this year’s event will reach even more corners of the state, netting an even larger group of new recruits for departments everywhere. We ask that you share this event information with members of your department and community and encourage their participation. We have to work together toward the common goal of recruiting and retaining manpower for the volunteer fire service of New York State. Your
department’s participation is vital.

Here are some recruitment open house ideas to get your department started. Time is of the essence – begin planning and advertising now. Don’t wait until it’s too late. This event is to benefit your department.

Start Advertising Your Event:

• Consider reaching out to your local press for public service announcements – think: TV, radio, daily and weekly newspapers
• Hang up signs around your community, stick signs in your department’s yard, and hang a banner on the front of your department
• Hang up posters and make announcements at high schools, churches and other important locations within your community
• Upload event information to the homepage of your department’s website, Facebook page, etc. (Visit www.recruitny.org for a graphic to upload)
• Reach out to commercial and mercantile establishments in your
  community

Promote the Services Your Department Provides:

• During your open house, promote the services that your department provides to the community by having activities for the recruits to participate in and informative stations set up.
• Offer tours of the station and equipment
• Encourage recruits to try on turnout gear and an air pack
• Prepare a small tutorial on fire extinguisher use
• If feasible, offer fire truck rides
• Create specialized equipment displays (jaws of life, diving/water rescue)
• Set up a fire police and Fire Corps table for recruits with non-interior desires
• Play slideshow or video presentations of events, activities or training at your department

Let’s combine forces to make RecruitNY 2012 an even bigger statewide success than last year by educating and drawing in more members, and showing the public just what it means to volunteer.

Here’s to National Volunteer Week and RecruitNY 2012!

Visit www.recruitny.org for all your RecruitNY resources.

Let us know if your department is participating and find out what other ones are in your area on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fasnyvf.

Outdoor light displays. Decorations with candles. Beautifully adorned real Christmas trees. Cooking delectable treats.

All are traditional signs of the season.

And all are dangers lurking in the shadows.

The holiday season – and winter in general – bring an increased risk for fire.

Utica Fire Chief Russell Brooks said there are more structure fires during the winter months.

“Some of the most horrific fires that I ever responded to were around Christmas or on Christmas,” Brooks said. “There’s so many sources of ignition this time of year.”

Residential structure fires peak during the winter – with the highest percentage taking place in December and January, according to a September 2011 report by the U.S. Fire Administration. On Christmas Day 2010, there were two structure fires in Oneida County.

Fires during the holidays also result in a greater financial loss, more injuries and more deaths than the average fire, and it gets even worse when the fires involve Christmas trees or decorations, according to a 2005 study by the administration.

Holiday fires each year result in 400 deaths, 1,600 injuries and more than $990 million in damage, the administration found.

Mark Kohlbrenner, deputy chief for the Rome Fire Department, said he notices a slight increase in structure fires during the holidays.

“And there’s a lot of factors with that,” he said.

Kohlbrenner mentioned dried-out Christmas trees, unattended candles and overloaded extension cords and circuits as some of the holiday-related causes.

Other causes include cooking, furnaces, fireplaces and space heaters, said David Jacobowitz, president of the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York.

Jacobowitz, who served as the Whitesboro fire chief for 20 years, said he urges people to make sure they have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and to not get overly caught up in the rush of the season.

“Consider what could happen if an accident would occur,” he said.

Once you’ve picked out the right tree, you’re going to want to get lights and power cords to decorate with.

“When they’re buying Christmas lights, you want to make sure the labels are on them,” said Garry Robinson, owner of Ace Hardware in Guilderland. “For instance, the Underwriters’ Laboratories rating for safety. And normally they’ll have a tag that tells you how many lights you can plug in together.”

Don’t forget to pick up a tree stand with a basin so you can water it everyday. Once you’ve got all your supplies, it’s time to decorate.

“The golden rule in holiday safety is to just take a little bit of time to think about what you’re doing and use common sense,” said John D’Alassandro, with the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York.

Space your lights out and don’t overload an outlet. Also, pay attention to your ornaments.

“Try to get ones that are flame resistant, try not to overcrowd them, try to keep them away from the lights somewhat,” says D’Alassandro. “I know it can be a challenge but again, you need to take some time to ensure you don’t have a bad situation down the road.”

If you follow all of these tips, not only will you have a beautifully decorated tree and home, you’ll also have a safe and happy holiday season. For more tips, visit here.

• Each department should designate a specific individual as their recruitment coordinator;
• Each department should establish a distinct email to receive new recruit questions and information.  The email should be something generic (like recruitment@XYZfiredepartment.com,) so it can continue to be used if the recruitment coordinator changes;
• The Fire Department Information Form is available here. It can be filled out online and submitted electronically or it can be printed out and completed;
• If printed out and completed it can be faxed to (518) 694-3137 or emailed to recruit@fasny.com  

When we implement our web-based referral system in mid-2012, it is critical to have a local department point of contact pre-loaded in the system.  This will enable us to “grab” that recruit right away while their interest is peaked.  While we all know that recruiting new members is always a challenge, this automatic referral system will be an invaluable tool in that effort.