The Daily Star
DELAWARE COUNTY, N.Y. — Delaware County Officials will undertake a comprehensive countywide fire services assessment.
Approval of the project by the county’s Board of Supervisors “follows recommendations from the Delaware County Fire Advisory Board’s Recruitment and Retention Committee and reflects the support of an overwhelming majority of Delaware County Fire Chiefs who recognize the growing challenges facing Delaware County’s volunteer fire service,” a news release from the county stated.
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“Delaware County’s fire service is unique in many respects. It protects a highly rural region located in the Catskill Mountains, serves communities with comparatively low median household incomes, and relies entirely upon 28 volunteer fire departments to provide fire and rescue protection to residents and visitors alike,” the release stated. Collectively, the departments responded to more than 4,200 fire-related incidents in 2025.
The number of active volunteer firefighters throughout Delaware County “has steadily declined and is rapidly approaching crisis status,” the release stated. The Fire Advisory Board established a Recruitment and Retention Committee “to identify strategies to preserve and strengthen volunteer fire protection services for future generations.”
Emergency Services Consulting International, a public safety consulting firm, was selected to conduct the study.
The Board of Supervisors approved $73,828 to retain ESCI to perform the assessment.
According to the release, the study “will provide a high-level, countywide evaluation” of all 28 volunteer fire departments and will examine:
- Operational firefighting capabilities, including interior, exterior and support staffing levels;
- Officer development, leadership depth and succession planning;
- Response performance utilizing Delaware County 911 computer-aided dispatch data and reporting;
- Apparatus, turnout gear, and SCBA inventories, age and replacement needs;
- Department budgets, capital planning efforts and fiscal sustainability;
- Recruitment and retention programs, membership participation and long-term volunteer sustainability;
- Opportunities to improve service delivery and maintain operational readiness through practical, actionable recommendations.
The assessment will be conducted primarily through electronic data collection, GIS analysis, virtual stakeholder meetings and interviews with fire chiefs, emergency services personnel, local officials and members of the Fire Advisory Board, the release stated. ESCI anticipates the project will take about nine months to complete following project initiation and data collection.
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