Firehouses seek to boost fighter membership

As part of a statewide effort to increase volunteer firefighters, the Firefighters Association of the State of New York’s 16th annual RecruitNY campaign kicked off with a press conference on April 24 at the Patchogue Fire Department, located at Jennings Avenue in Patchogue.    

RecruitNY is a major FASNY recruitment initiative designed to help increase volunteer membership among local fire departments by simply opening the doors to the firehouse. The past several years have been challenging for volunteer fire departments throughout the state. Many are faced with decreased membership and increased call volume.

Currently, there are approximately 80,000 volunteer firefighters statewide; however, nearly 20 years ago, those numbers were roughly 40,000 higher.

Many local fire departments have continued to experience a significant decline in volunteer firefighters over the years. At the same time, call volume has increased.  These factors make FASNY’s RecruitNY outreach even more important, especially as New York State continues to be one of the states with the highest number of civilian fire deaths. 

Nearly 90 percent of fire departments across New York State are volunteer based, and during the last weekend in April, those departments will invite residents to come check out what they have to offer their neighbors in the hopes that they will help.

Last year, FASNY released a survey of New York State residents’ perceptions of volunteer firefighters. The results showed 49 percent of New Yorkers expressed interest in becoming a volunteer firefighter. According to data from the FASNY survey, two-thirds of respondents (66 percent) said they would visit their local fire station to gain more information on becoming a volunteer, while 55 percent would turn to a Google search.

ABOUT RECRUITNY

Established in 2011, RecruitNY is a joint undertaking by the Firefighters Association of the State of New York (FASNY), the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs (NYSAFC), 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.