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.
By Connie Kent Carhart, CPA “What’s a 501c3?” “Why do we need one?” “Why, if we never needed this before?” Do these questions sound familiar? Are members who have been in your organization for some time asking these questions? They have a point. There was a time when your organization…
Read moreWhile smoke detectors are not actually fire prevention, they are a very important part of life safety. Any company, no matter how big or small, can start a smoke detector program. In 2012, our fire company reached out to local businesses and raised enough money to give a smoke detector…
Read moreWith the number of volunteer firefighters on the decline for decades, departments are turning to a key source for recruits. Youth programs – Juniors, Explorers and RAMs – are making a difference in both the lives of youth and department ranks across the state. “If you get one kid from…
Read moreBy Michael Capoziello Today’s fire service, especially the volunteer fire service, is under a lot of scrutiny from the public at large. Maintaining a healthy, trusting, transparent relationship with the communities you serve should be one of the top priorities of any Chief Officer, Board of Fire Commissioners, Trustees or…
Read moreBy Timothy C. Hannigan, FASNY Attorney In connection with the adoption of this year’s budget in April, New York State enacted Labor Law § 201-g. This new law, which took effect on October 9, 2018, mandates: (1) the adoption of a sexual harassment policy and (2) an interactive training program…
Read moreBy Kelli LaPage, MS, ATC, LAH, President of WellTrail, Inc. and Vice Chair of the FASNY Health and Wellness Committee Mother taught you it is bad to use the “F word," but the holiday is full of them: Family, Finances, Fantasy and Food can all bring incredible levels of stress…
Read moreBy Deputy Fire Chief Robert Outhouse, FASNY Recruitment and Retention Committee Today, as we continue to see the numbers of volunteer firefighters dwindling from our departments, many of us are asking why. What are we doing wrong? What can we do better? Recruitment and retention are the two biggest words…
Read moreBy Norvin Collins, MS EFO The topic of recruiting in the volunteer and combination fire service has been on the minds of leadership for years now. It isn’t a new thought, yet the challenges we are facing are unique to the times. In order to keep our organizations strong and…
Read moreBy Jeremy Connors, FASNY Recruitment and Retention Committee In order to recruit and retain, you must change your mindset to that of a business. While we continue to scratch our heads on how to recruit and retain members among the ranks of our departments, we might want to take a look…
Read moreBy Michael J. Klemenz, Upstate Fire Protection Engineering We all know the old fire service adage “Put the wet stuff on the red stuff.” But, just what is the “red stuff?” Understanding basic fire chemistry allows us to anticipate a fire’s next move, which comes in quite handy when making…
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