The County Executive’s Corner: “Bipartisan Bolster to Fire Safety” (By County Executive Ed Day)

Recently my administration including Fire and Emergency Services Director Chris Kear, County Attorney Thomas Humbach, and Intergovernmental Relations Director Stephen Powers stood alongside New York State Senators Bill Weber  and Pete Harckham, and New York State Assemblymembers Ken Zebrowski, John McGowan, Chris Eachus, and Karl Brabenec to announce a bipartisan effort to bolster fire safety with a package of New York State bills.

The bills are:

1. A4430 / S2986:

State assistance to local governments for the enforcement of fire prevention and building codes using monies paid into the code enforcement account.

2. A2776 / S3458:

Establishes the crimes of reckless endangerment of an emergency service person in the first

and second degrees (Felony).

3. A3097 / S4713:

Authorizes municipalities in the county of Rockland to add unpaid housing code violation penalties, costs and fines to such municipalitie’s annual tax levy.

4. A5991 / S5436:

Increases benefits for volunteer firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers.

5. A6290 / S4560:

Enhanced 911 – Communication enhancements by increasing state grant and reimbursements to $100 million for development, consolidation, or operation of public safety communications systems.

6. A5618 / S3354:

Bill that if Secretary of State is notified that a municipality is not providing administration & enforcement of the Uniform Fire Prevention & Building Code that complies with minimum standards the SOS may investigate & conduct hearings into alleged failure of local code enforcement. Essentially codifies what SOS did in Spring Valley.

7. A8616 / S8598:

Minimum staffing levels for agencies enforcing the minimum standards under the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code Act.

8. A9256:

Civil Penalties resulting from a violation related to the condition or use of real property may be applied against another property in rem.

9. Aggravated Offenses (pending filing):

Property owner can be charged with a Class D Felony if a person suffers serious physical injury as a result of a violation of a provision of the uniform fire prevention and building code.

Members of local firefighter associations worked hand in hand with us on what we presented including Kurt Mulligan, President of Rockland County Firefighters Association & Chief of the Stony Point Fire Department and James Hartwick, Commissioner with the Nyack Fire Department and Legislative Committee Head of the Rockland County Firefighters Association.

We are all aware of the housing challenges this county faces. Challenges – which are decades in the making – and reaching a breaking point. That breaking point resulted in 7 deaths over the last several years… Volunteer Firefighter Jared Lloyd, Resident Oliver Hueston, and five more last year who died in a fire due to dangerous levels of overcrowding. Those five are Carlos

Gonzalez, Darwin Diaz, Rudy Interiano, Anastacio Climaco, and Maria Quizar.

One thing is clear… more needs to be done and I’m confident these bills can and will save lives and I applaud our state lawmakers for putting politics aside to protect the lives of our citizens.