Paying the Price

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=75 BGCOLOR="#330000" TEXT="#F7F7FF" background="198c8c83.jpg"> <div> Riverhead Volunteer Fire Department</div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=250 BGCOLOR="#BBBBBB" TEXT="#080000" background="0befa043.gif"> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Riverhead Volunteer Fire Department">Home</A></div> <div> <A HREF="how_s_this_for_longevity_.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hows this for Longevity?">How's this for Longevity?</A></div> <div> <A HREF="constable_dr_13_35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Constable Dr 1335">Constable Dr 13-35</A></div> <div> <A HREF="social_gatherings.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Social Gatherings">Social Gatherings</A></div> <div> <B>Paying the Price</B></div> <div> <A HREF="being_a_volunteer.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Being a Volunteer">Being a Volunteer</A></div> <div> <A HREF="risk_assessments.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Risk Assessments">Risk Assessments</A></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=405 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>Paying the Price</I></div> <div> <B>... to Save Lives</B></div> <div> <B>Fighting to find new volunteers for local fire departments </B></div> <div> By Philip Marcelo     01-25-2006     <A HREF="http://www.timesreview.com/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.timesreview.com/">News Review</A></div> <bR> <div> A 20-something joins up at a local fire department. The volunteer completes the required training, attends annual refresher courses and responds to almost every emergency call. Then there's the department's social events. For a while, the young volunteer is a model firefighter. </div> <bR> <div> Then life interrupts. Marriage, kids, a house, taxes, second jobs. The volunteer isn't around as much, as other responsibilities pile up. Training requirements aren't met and participation wanes. </div> <bR> <div> It's what Riverhead Fire Chief Ed Carey described as a "cycle of burnout" in young, "gung-ho" volunteers, who drift away from service as responsibilities to work and family increase over time. Local department members say the rigorous training demands for today's firefighters are what force young members to abandon their duties. </div> <bR> <div> "The process has become terribly time-consuming, said veteran Southold Fire Department member Ed Boyd. Many find it hard to commit to the increase in time required for entry-level training and to keep certified. The high cost of living on the East End leaves many with "no time left over" for volunteer work, he added. </div> <bR> <div> The average age of local firefighters is mid to late 40s, according to fire chiefs. To encourage younger members, some departments have lowered their age requirement to 18. Riverhead Fire Department made that move this year, and the effects were almost immediate, Chief Carey said. "We had a big spike of 20 new people this year under the age of 21," he said. </div> <bR> <div> Though each fire department's protocol for training new members differs, all volunteer firefighters in Suffolk County must complete 18 classes and eight field exercises at the Suffolk County Fire Academy in Yaphank, as well as a given number of in-house training hours through their local fire company before a two-year probationary period is over. </div> <bR> <div> <IMG SRC="10e68f50.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="245" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="5" VSPACE="0">Most firehouses require firefighters to attend at least one refresher course at the fire academy each year. Then volunteers must train to use new technology as it's incorporated into departments. For example, Riverhead Fire Department made thermal imaging cameras, which firefighters use to detect persons trapped inside smoke-filled buildings, standard equipment in all of its companies two years ago. As a result, all interior firefighters had to be trained in their use, Chief Carey said. "Firefighters have to be trained to use new equipment and be efficient with it," he said. "Every time we buy something new, they have to train with it." </div> <bR> <div> As cars and homes become more sophisticated, firefighters must become more aware of the complexity of their technology, Craig Zitek, a chief at Jamesport Fire Department and a member of the Fire Chiefs' Council of Suffolk County, said. Firefighters also respond to water and ice rescues. </div> <div> "It's all things we need," he said. "Today's firefighter is a much better prepared firefighter. We don't just put out fires; that's only part of it now. We've taken on a lot more, and with that requires a great deal more training." </div> <bR> <div> But in a hectic world, that sort of continuous training might be a disincentive for young would-be firefighters. "It requires more 'you' time," Mr. Zitek said of the initial training to be a firefighter. "Some are saying enough is enough." </div> <bR> <div> Jeff Meyer, 23, joined Southold Fire Department the summer of 2001, spending weeknights taking fire academy courses and working with his father's construction company during the day. At the same time, he worked to get his EMS certification through classes at Suffolk County Community College. He became a firefighter in two months. "It was relatively easy," he said. "Plus I had the free time." </div> <bR> <div> But since then, his free time has slowly been drained away. Mr. Meyer bought a home in Southold over the summer, and he spends as much of his free time as he can making improvements to it. He's working over 40 hours per week for the family firm, with the expectation that one day he will run it. </div> <div> "More work, less play," he said. </div> <bR> <div> Of the 10 Southold residents who attended fire academy with him, only three remain, he said. Yet for Mr. Meyer, the fire department is a lifelong commitment. He attends his monthly company meeting, department-wide and rescue squad meetings and mandatory academy training courses. He provides general maintenance on the company's dive truck and participates in the department's drill sessions held almost every Sunday morning. </div> <bR> <div> "You've signed up for something. It's part of the responsibility," he said. </div> <bR> <div> photo: Kevin Kosciuszko, one of the newest volunteer firemen of the Riverhead Fire Department.</div> <div> News-Review photo by Barbaraellen Koch</div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>