Copyright 2005 Newsday, Inc.
By JOYE BROWN
Let me jump into the fray on Long Island’s volunteer firefighters by disclosing a few biases. One: I know a lot of firefighters and their families, and I’ve got a relative who fights fires in New York City for a living. Two: I know a lot of EMTs and their families. Three: I would like to make the cut as a volunteer EMT myself someday.
That should put me foursquare behind the critics of Newsday’s series on volunteer fire departments. And if I had to choose sides, oh employer of mine, I’d be hard pressed not to go with friends and my own blood.
But I don’t have to choose sides, because there are more urgent matters out there. And the “us” versus “them” argument, no matter how heartfelt, does nothing to address challenges facing a proud system of volunteer firefighting on Long Island that’s in danger of spiraling toward extinction.
Do some local departments waste residents’ money by spending lavishly and maybe even unlawfully? The painful answer is, yes.
Do some departments routinely wield the brave work of volunteers as a shield against necessary public scrutiny? The answer, again, is yes.
Fire officials ask the public to check smoke detectors twice a year to ensure they are working. Why shouldn’t fire districts be subject to closer scrutiny, to ensure they keep working, too?
Volunteers I’ve talked to over the past few days said they have nothing to hide, although most acknowledged their departments could do with some changes. All of them were angry, however, that the excesses of a few could tarnish the work of them all.
Maybe we should try to separate the volunteers from the system, then. It seems hard, but the exercise is essential.
Two years ago, I went to a meeting with the Firemen’s Association of the State of New York. Their statistics showed that the number of volunteer firefighters across the state was plummeting. The number for Long Island was tanking too.
“A volunteer system without volunteers,” I remember asking, “how is that going to work?”
“It isn’t,” came the reply.
“Are you saying that someday Long Island won’t have an all-volunteer system?,” I remember asking.
“If things keep going the way they’ve been going, yes,” came the reply.
“Well, wait a minute,” I remember saying, “If the departments are not getting enough young members, how many of the guys, who are now working, can actually run into a building and save me from a fire?”
The association estimated that two out of every three of Long Island’s 90,000-plus volunteer firefighters were up to the physical demands of the job.
Yesterday, I ran my recollections past association president Edward A. Carpenter, a former chief and current commissioner of the Sayville Fire District, who also had attended that meeting.
He said I had a good memory, but recalled that we also talked about a report commissioned by the association, which showed that volunteer fire departments are significantly cheaper than paid ones.
Carpenter said the major challenge facing Long Island fire districts has not changed. The departments may need oversight, he acknowledged, but they need volunteers even more.
Long Island’s volunteer corps is shrinking, while a tax-burdened public is being asked to cover higher and higher spending.
That’s the problem.
And we should stop fighting long enough to address it.