Lancaster man named Fire Safety Educator of the Year

Lancaster resident William C. “Billy” Schroeder, has been named Fire Safety Educator of the Year by the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York.

Schroeder joined the Lancaster Fire Department in 1978. Following the line of command as he went through the ranks, Schroeder served as chief from 1994 through 1996, where his passion for and interest regarding fire safety education intensified.

With the support and assistance of Glenn Sickles, a fellow firefighter and mentor, Schroeder spearheaded the fire education and life safety program in Lancaster.

His initial start as a fire safety educator came about with the assistance of New York State Assembly members Vincent Graber and the late Sandra Lee Wirth and state senator Dale Volker.

He established the program with the purchase of three fire safety robots, an array of magic tricks, puppets and a puppet stage. Schroeder also obtained a 35-foot fire safety house trailer and a 15-foot cube van.

All of his items have been used at various fire safety events, fire department open houses, senior citizens health fairs, business in-service training classes and school demonstrations across Western New York.

Schroeder’s fire safety education program has received a lot of recognition; the program won the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs’ Fire Prevention Award in 2001, the same year he received the Citizenship Award from Lancaster Mayor Bill Cansdale.

Additionally, he was selected as a presenter at the 2003 Public Education Conference and was a presenter for several years at the Oneida County Volunteer Firemen’s Association Fire Safety Expo in Utica.

FASNY was founded in 1872 and represents the interests of the more than 90,000 volunteer firefighters in the state. For more information, visit www.fasny.com .