Lansing Fire Dept. holds open house to attract more volunteers

The Lansing Fire Department will hold an open house Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as part of the statewide Recruit NY weekend aimed to bring more volunteer firefighters into service for the community.

Firefighters from the department will lead tours of the station, the trucks and apparatus. Visitors can try on firefighting gear and learn what it takes to become part of the department. There will be live demonstrations and a visit from the Life Net air medical transport helicopter. BJ’s Wholesale Club has also donated a $50 gift certificate for a drawing among attendees.

The open house helps to address a growing problem in the county and beyond — volunteer fire departments across the state have struggled to fill their ranks in a time of increased call volume.

“This is an excellent opportunity for people to meet their local volunteer firefighters and learn a bit more about the fire service,” said new Lansing Fire Chief Brad George. “Volunteer firefighters are everyday heroes who dedicate their spare time to helping people in their times of need.”

Frank Towner, director of the YMCA of Ithaca and Tompkins County, has been a member of the department for 24 years and now serves as an engine driver and vice president of the department’s Board of Directors.

“When I moved to town, I wanted to do something that would have a positive effect on the community,” Towner said. “The fire department was exciting, and there is a sense of camaraderie — a group you become close to, a family. All you need to do is show up, talk to people and involve yourself.”

Towner noted that the department is a “professionally led organization with top-notch equipment and quality training.”

New firefighters start with a physical examination to ensure that they are healthy enough for the activity and then move on to 12 to 15 hours of “basic training” in rules and regulations.

For the first year, new firefighters are probationary members of the department. They are allowed to go to fires and observe and considered ready to begin 50 hours of training in basic exterior firefighting —
going from the firetruck to the front door.

They can go inside after 30 more hours of training in advanced interior firefighting skills or focus on pump operations, engine driving or working the ladder truck. Alternatively, they can begin a semester’s coursework at Tompkins Cortland Community College or at TLC Medical Transportation and become an emergency medical technician.

New members are given firefighting gear and a pager. When the pager goes off, they respond to the station and get on the truck.

“It’s an opportunity to do something different,” Towner said. “It’s physically demanding and exciting. And it can be emotionally demanding.”

Though the department roster holds as many as 80 members, there is a day-to-day core group of about 20, according to Towner. The department would like to have 10 more members trained to drive and fight fires to ensure sufficient capacity to respond to the more than 850 calls a year.

“It’s dynamic and rewarding, and, long term, there is a retirement plan,” Towner said. “If you go on 10% of the calls and take enough training, you will get a certain amount put into your retirement plan. It adds up.”

The Firemen’s Association of the State of New York (FASNY) has worked to build and deploy a multitiered plan for helping New York state’s 1,700-plus volunteer fire departments recruit thousands of new volunteer firefighters by utilizing federal SAFER grant funds for programs, including the “Fire in You” advertising campaign, FASNY HELP college tuition reimbursement program and recruitment training classes.

Established in 2011, RecruitNY is a joint undertaking of FASNY, the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs, Association of Fire Districts of New York State, Volunteer Fire Police Association of the State of New York and County Fire Coordinators Association of the State of New York.

Area residents looking for more information can visit fireinyou.org or contact the Lansing Fire Department via a nonemergency phone number at (607) 533-4203; Towner, event chair, at (607) 339-3209.