by David Flint
“If you don’t, who will?” That’s the question put to Town residents in a letter from the Stephentown Volunteer Fire Department on the occasion of its open house at the Fire Station on RecruitNY Day, April 27. “We all lead busy lives,” the letter continued, “but we also make time for the fire department because it is right. Every member of our Fire Department is a volunteer. We have no paid personnel. We also understand that family, work and school come first. Our civic pride says give something back to the community.”
[private]A secondary goal of the open house event was to accomplish some “spring cleaning” at the Fire Station. Fire Chief Joseph Zwack was busy Saturday morning with other volunteers cleaning the floor, polishing the equipment and generally straightening up. He acknowledged that signing up to be an active member of the Department represents a major commitment of time and effort. While there are some incentives such as a tax credit and the fellowship and camaraderie that come with the job, the major incentive, he believed, comes from the knowledge that you have volunteered “a good deed” for the benefit of your community.
Zwack said the biggest need right now is for fire police and EMS drivers, but any help in any capacity is well appreciated. He noted with satisfaction that the Department recently has taken on two new drivers, Lynda Lewis and Brett Chmura, and he had just signed the authorization for Lewis to start training toward becoming an EMT. According to Bob Adler, Member of the Board of Directors, the current active membership stands at 54, including “about 30 that we can count on.” The Department has nine EMTs but not all of them are available at all times. While the Department does respond to some 200 EMS calls a year, Zwack noted that there were four EMS calls last month for which they could not get a crew “off the floor.”
The Department continues to update and enhance their equipment and response capabilities. New hose racks to organize miles of hose were constructed and installed last year. A new light tower purchased recently from Grafton helps a lot with night incidents and has been used twice already in mutual aid fires up in Berlin. Fundraising has been helped considerably with the Texas Hold’em tournaments at the Fire Hall and a number of improvements at the Fire Hall include WiFi and TV. The Department has set up a Truck Committee to look into the purchase of a new Rescue Truck to replace their aging and deteriorating former bread truck. Zwack said that one of the options being considered is the purchase of a small rescue/pumper that would replace both the Rescue Truck and the 1987 Mack pumper. The rescue/pumper, similar to one that Petersburgh recently purchased, would carry EMS and Fire Police equipment and also have the capability of putting out a fire with class-A foam. These smaller trucks are a lot easier to drive yet can accomplish a lot. Zwack believes that replacing two trucks with one would also save the Department a good bit of cash.
Other improvements on the agenda include a new roof for the Fire Station. There are also plans to install in the Fire Station a propane-fired backup generator that would kick in automatically in the event of a power failure. The Department also continues to replace on a routine basis the firefighters’ turnout gear, each set of helmet, coat, pants and boots costing more than $2,000.
“Each of our members has individual interests and preferences,” the recruitment letter read. “We recognize that and will direct your training in the direction you choose. Our in-house training and maintenance night is every Tuesday at 7 pm at the station. State fire training courses are offered evenings or weekends and will make you proficient in the particular track you choose.
These courses are free to members. We never ask personnel to perform above their
competence, experience or comfort level. And we have jobs for everyone. If you are 16 to 17 years old you will be a junior member with full membership at age 18. There’s no upper
limit. New members have a probationary period pending completion of initial training.
Some of our social events are the Roast Beef Dinner each April, the Corned Beef Dinner in March, the Muster Competition in September, Texas Hold’em poker, parades, etc. Some events are fundraisers, some mainly social, but they all build and reinforce our skills to work cohesively together, so important during an emergency.”
Adler said after the event that, “We did not pick up any new recruits, but we accomplished our secondary goal, spring cleaning. Particularly helpful were Scouts from Cub Pack 911 which we sponsor. We would also like to thank Stephentown Dunkin’ Donuts for donating refreshments.”
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