Rockland County officials say don’t call ‘rogue’ emergency group

Rockland County Executive Ed Day and Fire and Emergency Services Director Chris Kear are strongly urging and advising residents in the county to always call 911 in an emergency. The announcement comes following a volunteer group called Matzilei Aish, which lacks the training and proper equipment to fight fires, encouraging residents to call them rather than 911.

Rockland County Director of Fire & Emergency Services Director Chris Kear and County Executive Ed Day have warned that the operations of these amateur responders could prove a hazard to the  Town of Ramapo and a hindrance to the state and federal agencies put in place to guarantee the safety of both homeowners and emergency responders. 

The volunteer group also creates complications after the fact, as house fires addressed by the organization are not properly documented: county officials have stated that Matzilei Aish have not provided notification as to the fire hazards and or code violations observed at the sites they visit, meaning the underlying issues responsible for the inferno go unaddressed. Their unofficial nature also creates a headache for any homeowner seeking to claim an insurance payout for damage caused by the fire.

“This ‘rogue’ fire group continues to place the residents in jeopardy. This is a very dangerous situation in which inexperienced individuals with the lack of serious training will potentially result in serious injury or loss of life,” said Kear. “The fire departments in our county are well trained and have vast experience in a wide range of emergency related incidents. This should be left in the hands of our professional volunteer firefighters.”

While there are no laws that prevent the formation of a private fire company in New York, existing laws prohibit things such as interference with a firefighting operation and the County of Rockland encourages fire departments to document and report any instances of physical obstruction by this fire group.

For more information on the issue, check out this week’s County Executive’s Corner on Page 2.