Rockland Relies on the Volunteer Firefighter

When you see a fire truck on the road, with its lights on and alarm blaring, do you ever imagine  it could be going to your house? It very well could be, and in Rockland it is a certainty that whoever is part of the response team from the fire house is a volunteer. Every fire department in Rockland County is a volunteer organization, and many in our community are worried that it won’t stay that way.

Having volunteer fire companies across the state of New York saves the average tax payer $4.7 billion a year. According to the Association of Fire Districts of the State of New York, as of 2023, 31,058 full time firefighters would need to be hired in the state of New York and paid if the volunteer companies switched to being career companies. It would increase local property taxes by over 28% and require a one time cost of $8.17 billion to acquire existing vehicles and equipment. 

93%  of New York State fire companies are partially or entirely volunteer, so to have every volunteer firefighter in the state become a career firefighter would be a massive financial burden. That burden would most likely be placed on local municipalities. Municipalities with poorer or more rural communities would not be able to fund something like that. 

Volunteer companies need support, and at the current rate they haven’t been receiving much. For starters, their numbers are dwindling. In the 2000s there were almost 120k volunteer firefighters in New York, but in 2026 that number is a little above 80k. There are many reasons behind the decline, but most point to affordability as a primary factor. People who might want to volunteer simply can’t find the time, especially if they’re working more than one job. Lack of volunteers can increase call times and lead to slower responses from fire companies. 

Christopher Serra has been a volunteer firefighter at New City since 2001. In his day job, he’s an administrator at Clarkstown Central School District. He’s been working tirelessly to advocate for Senate Bill S7021, which has currently stalled in the New York State Senate. The bill would establish a service credit for state employees who volunteer as firefighters or other emergency response. For every five years of service, a volunteer would receive one year of pension credit. Serra says that while New City is doing fine on the volunteer end, bringing on 6-10 volunteers every year, other companies aren’t so lucky, and passing bills like this would incentivize people to join volunteer companies and remain with them long-term. 

Volunteering for a fire company isn’t the same as volunteering to run a bake sale or chaperone a school dance. Firefighters risk their lives everyday, and volunteers aren’t receiving much in return. Volunteers don’t typically stay at the firehouse. To respond to a call, they have to drop everything they’re doing and rush to the incident. This could mean leaving work, a family events like a graduation or a wedding, or jumping out of bed in the middle of the night.

Things in the volunteer fire world have changed since 2001. According to Serra, training requirements have increased, calls have increased, and the science behind fighting fires has become more sophisticated. The amount of calls has increased as well. Serra says that at New City they receive anywhere from 600 to 800 calls every year, which amounts to 2 or 3 a day. Across the state, the amount of calls a given fire company receives has increased exponentially. As volunteer numbers drop, remaining firefighters are working far more than they did just 20 years ago. 

This is one of the most important issues you never hear about. Volunteer fire and EMS companies are crucial, and in a county where every single fire company is a volunteer organization, substantial support for those volunteers could be the difference between life and death. State Senate and State Assembly elections are coming up. Sen. Bill Weber, who represents most of Southern Rockland, has sponsored a bill to bring the $200 tax credit volunteer firefighters receive up to $800. It may feel like a drop in the bucket, but having state politicians who are aware of the current problem with volunteer emergency response teams and how reliant our communities are on volunteer emergency response, is essential.

With Senate  bill S7021 still in limbo, think about what could happen if volunteer numbers continue to decline. Think about what you would do if your house, or your office, or your school caught fire. Think about what could happen if things continue as they are. Then, cast your ballot.