Day Five: The Volunteers
For day five of the Newsday.com series on Long Island Firefighters, the focus is on the volunteers.
In the fall of 2003, a longtime Manhasset volunteer firefighter and businessman placed a startling advertisement in the local newspaper."Volunteerism has been stretched to the breaking point," wrote Brian Kenny, a volunteer since 1960. It was time, he argued, to "get past the emotional trap of tradition and brotherhood," time for the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire District to start hiring firefighters and paramedics.
The ad sparked outrage and denunciations from volunteers.
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Today, Long Island fire agencies employ at least 1,800 people, an average of 10 full- and part-time workers for each fire agency, at a cost of more than $52 million annually. Their numbers are small next to the 20,000 volunteers in Nassau and Suffolk, but they are becoming indispensable. Only one in six fire agencies still function as purely volunteer organizations with no paid staff.
I believe that it doesn't matter what type of department a jurisdiction has, as long as good service is provided to the citizens. If a paid department is needed, then hire some firefighters. If volunteers are still providing good service and are willing to respond to calls, then keep the volunteers.
