Letter: 132 Years Of Volunteer Firefighting At Risk in Rye

[FF402 133]

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The City of Rye, NY has lost its volunteer fire department. Over 132 years of service were wiped out at the announcement by the new Public Safety Commissioner that the Volunteer Fire Chiefs would be relieved of all fire fighting command. The chiefs know how to manage a fire scene, they train with the firefighters, have knowledge from classes provided in firefighting by Westchester County and years of experience

 

FULL LETTER: http://www.myrye.com/my_weblog/2017/04/letter-132-years-of-volunteer-fire-service-at-risk-in-rye.html

[25truck26 29]

Hello everyone it has been years since I used this log in name and that's because I resigned from the city of Rye Fire department 5 years ago.  

I chose to write a response to the above letter.  The letter below was submitted to myrye.com  as well this morning.  And will be to any other media outlets in which Captain Millman sent his letter. 

The following is my statement and does not represent any former or current members of RFD. I am also not affiliated with any fire department at this time. 

 

 

From: Richard P Suarino 

           Ex Captain Poningoe Hook & Ladder Company

To: Letters to the editor,

I am writing in response to a recent letter that was submitted by Fire Police Patrol Captain Lester Millman in regards to the recent changes that have taken place at the Rye Fire Department.  I would like to start by stating that I was a combined 14 yearACTIVE member of the City of Rye Fire Department. I spent two years as part of explorer post 700 as a junior firefighter.  Then 12 years as a member of the Poningoe Hook & Ladder Company, where I served as first & second Lieutenant and then as Captain before resigning from the department in 2012.  I have a combined 17 years in the Emergency Services.  

The picture that Captain Millman has painted for the Rye citizens and would have one believe is that this change is a big surprise to the members of the department.  It's not.   Volunteer membership has been on the decline since probably the 1980’s,and since then the bleeding hasn't stopped, it’s only gottenworse. In the late 90’s, early 2000’s, the department voted in several new members and it helped a little to put a patch on the crack in the dam.  In the 2000’s as an active volunteer firefighter, a lieutenant and then captain, there were several ideas that myself and other active volunteers proposed to make some much needed changes to the department structure to help with rapidly declining membership.  Recommendations were brought to the attention of the Board Of Wardens, who at that time, controlled all decision making within the fire department.  The problem was that the Board was consistently controlled by veteran members of the department who were not as active and ignored any and all input by young active members, to the point where some members were turned off and stopped showing up. Others resigned and some went to other departments. Rye’s changing demographics has had the biggest effect on membership. Gone are the blue collar families of Rye.  Many of the old long time Rye names that were connected to the fire department making it generational are no longer in Rye, forced to move because Rye is unaffordable to those that would volunteer.  For every one member gained three are lost.  A member joining as a college kid at 19 has to resign by 23-24 because they are forced to move out of Rye. And it's not just Rye membership that is down, nation wide volunteer firefighters are declining.  Being in emergency situations, dealing with and seeing the things a firefighter may see is not for everyone. It's a calling, and the hours of training involved will take most free nights away, not to mention the required alarm response.  

Turnout at alarms; even 10 years ago at the most recent height of active membership-. We had 25 interior qualified firefighters and still sometimes we only had 4 volunteers at an alarm.  All working fires required mutual aid from our friends in Harrison and Mamaroneck.  

 

Leadership was and is non-existent under the Volunteer Chiefs of the department and when a chief did try to implement positive change he was quickly pushed out by older voting block.  At Fire scenes, basic accountability of members was lax.  Meaning,God forbid an explosion or collapse happened at a scene, the chiefs had no idea who had actually showed up at the scene.  Some chiefs had nothing more than basic firefighting training. Most were being relied on because of their 30+ years in the department, yet they had taken no classes to sharpen their skills or update their knowledge.  Any good leader in emergency service will tell you, you will never know everything and you are always learning something new until the day you retire.  This business is always changing and evolving.  

The Rye Professional firefighters often find that they are the only ones on scene. Sometimes I was the only volunteer on scene with them.  During the winter of 2002 I was the only volunteer on scene for an afternoon house fire. Three career firefighters and I, with one of those professionals manning twopump panels and one ladder.  

Commissioner Corcoran didn't just come in and decide to shake things up.  He's a very educated man with years of experience and after speaking with numerous people connected to the fire department he saw there was a need for change.  He has a job to lead the men and women of the Police and Fire Departments and the fire department problems are 20+ years in the making,ignored by past Board Of Wardens members and past chiefs of the department who kicked the can down the road.  The public might be surprised that over 100 years of volunteer service are coming to an end but many of the current and past members are not.  

Regards

Richard P Suarino

Past member and Captain Poningoe Hook & Ladder Company

 

[BIGRED1 71]

I think the writing is on the wall. Towns are learning that the volunteer dept. are not there anymore. Gone are the days of 300 active members and waiting lists. Little to no turn out at calls. False claims of "active" members when the 2% money comes. I'm all for Volunteerism and for helping out but westchester is not built for it anymore. As is said, blue collar folks can't make it here anymore. At some point everyone is gonna have to go career or suck it up, put on their big boy pants and consolidate the county. Lord know most guys want that anyway.

[kinkchaser 352]

Regional approach, the only real answer

[gamewell45 258]

19 hours ago, kinkchaser said:

Regional approach, the only real answer

Agreed. Especially in area's where the volunteer turnout is dismal on a regular basis.  Westchester has changed over the past 40 years and many departments have failed to keep up with the times and its come home to roost.  The AHJ has an obligation to provide fire protection to its residents and if it means conversion from volunteer to combo or a fully career department, that's what is going to happen regardless of opinion.

 

My suggestion to fire commissioners/city managers would be when a member of your department appears before you to make a suggestion that they would feel improve recruitment/retention/participation that you give it serious consideration; the mindset should be how can we make it work as opposed to why it won't work.  A positive outlook usually works better then one of negative as people tend to support what they help to create, something I think many departments have forgotten over time.  Younger members bring enthusiasm, dedication and Ideas; the older members offer experience and wisdom; combine both and you have a chance to allow the fire departments mission statement to succeed. Just my opinion.

[FF402 133]

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And the letter by Rye Professional Firefighters:

 

Rye Professional Firefighters Local 2029

PO Box 202 Rye, NY 10580

April 12th, 2017

Dear Readers of MyRye:

 

The City of Rye has not lost its volunteer firefighters. Those volunteer firefighters who feel that 132 years of service were wiped out are blinded by the past. The volunteer member of the non-firematic utility company is trying to paint a doom and gloom picture of the future of the Rye Fire Department (RFD). When in fact the opposite is true. The unfortunate side of social media is that anyone, regardless of their knowledge or experience, is permitted to express their opinion and disregard the existence of factual information.

 

When the Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) Bureau of New York State inspected the RFD last year, they found 19 serious violations. One of the most serious was that the “Chief of the Department” lacked more training than the general membership. This did not come as a surprise to members of the department. The RFD qualifications to be a volunteer “Chief” are minimal: candidates must be 18 years or older, have completed basic firefighting training (roughly 100 hours), and have previously held the position of captain in one of the fire companies. By contrast, an ENTRY level Career Firefighter upon graduation from the Westchester Career Fire Academy has more than 500 hours of training and over 25 certifications in various firefighting disciplines. Post-graduation, Career Firefighters are required to complete 100 hours of additional training annually. It is our understanding that the volunteer “Chiefs” were told they needed to obtain more training than the general membership, with additional training as “incident commanders”. Any reasonable person would agree that the citizens of Rye deserve a leader of the RFD with years of experience and training. During a public referendum last November, the citizens of Rye voted to change the leadership of the RFD and removed the Board of Fire Wardens, who failed to move the department forward.

 

Our job as Career Firefighters is not simply to “run [our] truck”. It is to provide the best service to the Rye community. At every single fire call, Career Firefighters take action to help the public. Not only are we on the end of the hose lines putting out fires, we are checking homes for natural gas leaks, or carbon monoxide. We are the men and women who first arrive and fix whatever issue the citizens of Rye have asked us to come help them address. We do NOT simply wait by the truck or engine down the road. If the 10 interior qualified volunteer firefighters show up, they assist us and we are grateful for their help. When the situation requires it, we send two Career Firefighters into a building on fire while the third runs a pump or ladder, while also trying to run the scene. This is far from ideal. Our new Public Safety Commissioner (PSC) knows this is far from ideal. That is why he is changing how the Fire Department has run things the last 100+ years.

 

The truth of the matter is that the newly appointed PSC position was created, in part, to address the department’s deficiencies and ensure safety using industry standards as a guide. The Rye volunteers have not been disbanded. Volunteers simply have to abide by guidelines that exist to ensure safety. We hope MyRye readers and all Rye residents understand that we want to provide the best service to our community. That means having leaders who have more than just basic/entry level firefighter training. Leaders who have not only been around the fire department for years, but that those years have been filled with substance and experience. Those who do not want change are impeding efforts to improve and make the department safer for both firefighters and the community. We, the Rye Professional Firefighters Local 2029, welcome this change.

 

Sincerely,

Rye Professional Firefighters Local 2029

 

 

http://www.myrye.com/my_weblog/2017/04/letter.html

[MiFF 23]

I agree with the unions letter but I kind of think it could have been worded differently. Instead of saying "if the volunteers show up", maybe say "if the volunteers are able to respond." The former just makes it sound like they don't even put in the effort. In this day and age it can at times just be impossible for a volly to respond no matter how bad they want to. 

[calhobs 110]

The days of "we been doing it like this for years now" are over. Tradiation now is about safety. Rye is doing the right thing. I served on the fire wardens in my old dept. It served no purpose. Attitude was, what's best for my company, not for the Department. It moved the department backwards. Safety can not be overlooked anymore. If you can't see that, maybe you shoukd rethink about being a volunteer

[SageVigiles 1,194]

I think Mr. Suarino's letter is excellent, and sheds light on the types of crap that has been going on for years in volunteer departments. Every department I've ever been a part of has had a select group of obstructionist old guys who haven't rode the rigs in 15 years that just love to make life difficult for officers and firefighters that are trying to get things done and move the agency forward.

[Viper 139]

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Fact: The new "chiefs" have not been approved

 

'According to John Castelhano, the president of the local firefighters’ union, the new fire chief doesn’t have all the necessary training necessary to lead the department. “My understanding is that you need more training or equal training to the general membership of the department; [Larr] is not even close,” he said.'

 

 

http://www.ryecityreview.com/lead-stories/fire-department-policy-changes-enacted-new-chiefs-installed/

[calhobs 110]

But he is the most popular guy in the fire house. Isn't that good enough to be Chief 

Edited April 20, 2017 by calhobs

[newsbuff 286]

On 4/15/2017 at 6:27 AM, MiFF said:

I agree with the unions letter but I kind of think it could have been worded differently. Instead of saying "if the volunteers show up", maybe say "if the volunteers are able to respond." The former just makes it sound like they don't even put in the effort. In this day and age it can at times just be impossible for a volly to respond no matter how bad they want to. 

 

Effort and "wanting to" respond doesn't put out fires. The citizen isn't gonna say "Oh well, you had to work so it's ok that my husband died because it was 'impossible for the volly to respond'."  

 

The citizens DEMAND a service that responds in a quick and efficient matter EVERY SINGLE TIME.  Anything less is doing a disservice to the community.

Edited April 20, 2017 by newsbuff

[25truck26 29]

Here is the latest on the city of Rye Fire Department 

http://www.ryecityreview.com/news/fd-to-add-career-deputy-chief-position-3-lieutenants/

[BIGRED1 71]

7 hours ago, 25truck26 said:

Here is the latest on the city of Rye Fire Department 

http://www.ryecityreview.com/news/fd-to-add-career-deputy-chief-position-3-lieutenants/

 

Good on them. Glad to see they are moving forward with making the City of Rye safer. Congrats to FF PItts for joining the department.