Hot new way to recruit volunteer firefighters in NY

ROUSES POINT, N.Y. –

Sebastian Barie is one of the newest volunteers with the Rouses Point Fire Department.

“It’s a good way to give back to my community,” Barie said.

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.