Welcome to The Volunteer Firefighter™, the official magazine of FASNY.
FASNY’s publication strives to bring topical, educational and entertaining information to the volunteer emergency service decision-makers and volunteers throughout New York State. It offers feature articles and columns directly relating to the emergency services, as well as editorial content, training and education opportunities, legislation, fire prevention and life safety articles, and real-life experiences. Read the most recent news and insights below.
FASNY is excited to announce the appointment of Gina Salvato Shultis as Director of Development. In this capacity, she will lead the expansion of our fundraising efforts and work with FASNY’s Board of Directors and Home Trustees to cultivate relationships with donors, constituents and corporate partners. “I am so happy…
Read moreBy Lyle B. Holland, FASNY Recruitment and Retention Committee Look at FASNY’s Recruitment and Retention website at www.recruitny.org. We have it all: action videos with loud music, pictures and posters to get the kids pumped up! Take them to your schools and get your kids excited about joining. Once you…
Read moreBy Lynn Riemer, EMS Conference and Seminar Presenter, and Ronald Holmes, MD Every day there are multiple deaths due to overdose of heroin or prescription painkillers. Opioid abuse by Americans age 12 and older continues to increase. Data from the National Center for Health Statistics revealed that 21.5 million Americans…
Read moreBy Daniel Batsie, EMS Conference and Seminar Presenter As EMS professionals, most of us recognize that continuing education is a part of ordinary life. We all go through the motions of logging hours and fulfilling those nagging requirements, but how do we know if that training is really preparing us…
Read moreBy Marsha S. Holland, FASNY Fire Prevention and Life Safety Committee Chair We all know that fire prevention is the most “boring” part of the fire service. It also doesn’t get the attention like every other aspect of firefighting. Be honest … you joined the fire service to fight fires,…
Read moreBy Steve Grogan As two 18-year-old twins received their badges as new probationary volunteers in the Lynbrook Fire Department on Long Island in August, two longtime firefighters stood in the back of the room with big smiles. Those two firefighters, Ex-Captain PJ Curran of Truck Company and Ex-Captain Joseph Rice…
Read moreOn October 11, firefighters from across New York came to Albany to honor their fallen brothers at the 19th Annual Fallen Firefighters Memorial Ceremony. Under a beautiful autumn sky, the names of eight individuals who made the ultimate sacrifice were added to the memorial wall. While many dignitaries spoke that…
Read moreEd. note: In the Fall of 2015, building upon the success of cooperative efforts to develop and implement the Firefighter Training – Best Practices, State Fire Administrator Bryant Stevens convened a meeting of the state’s largest fire service organizations with the goal of examining and planning for the future of…
Read more“There are 92,000 reasons that volunteer firefighters should have presumptive cancer coverage in New York State.” There is power in this quote from FASNY Past President Robert N. McConville in the press release announcing the 2015 FASNY-sponsored video, “Fighting Fires, Fighting Cancer.” (1) One thing we can all agree on…
Read moreBy George Davenport, FASNY Recruitment and Retention Committee Chair Call it whatever you want: onboarding, mentoring, orientation, etc. This is a critical component to growing your membership. First, let’s revisit what we have done in the past to introduce new recruits to our department and examine what has worked and…
Read more