More than 90% of the fire departments in New York are volunteer, and all of the fire departments in our region are entirely volunteer. We wake up in the middle of the night when the siren sounds, but we also serve as we can. There are no assigned shifts or sleeping in a bunkhouse. We hear the sirens, our pagers, alerts and texts, we wake up, drop work, help others. 

We are the first responders in any emergency: fires, car accidents and floods. We are men and women, school teachers, teachers aides, and accountants. We work for MTC, the DEP, the DPW (for the county, town and village), NASCAR and the central school. We serve on the town board and village board. We are truck drivers, a gunsmith, grandparents, journalists, an art critic, retirees, mothers, fathers, college professors. We come from across the spectrum of our community. 

• We have interior and exterior firefighters and drivers, as well as fire police who are responsible for scene set up and safety 

• We are all trained for our jobs, with specialized training at the county emergency services department and fire training center

• We average 100-150 calls a year 

• In 2020 we answered 141 calls from fires: chimney fires, structure fires, barn fires; false alarms, medevac landing zones, car accidents, downed power lines, trees down, one flood, EMT assists and more 

Benefits of joining

There are many reasons people join — service and camaraderie and community, but there are some more tangible benefits too:

• Free training and equipment (everything you need to serve is provided for you)

• Tuition assistance and reimbursements

• Annual physicals

• Tax break on state taxes

• Scholarships

• Insurance Coverage