NYS SENATE

Senate proposal boosts recruitment

State Senator George D. Maziarz (R-C, North Tonawanda) and members of the Senate Majority unveiled a plan to boost the ranks of firefighter and ambulance volunteers by offering free college tuition.

The proposal, which is a Senate budget priority, also calls for funds to help departments purchase life-saving thermal imaging equipment.

The plan would provide $2.5 million to pay up to the level of SUNY college tuition – up to $3,400 a year that could be used at any public or independent degree granting college in New York.

To be eligible, volunteers must have served at least one year and continue to be active in the fire or ambulance company while attending school. It is estimated that up to 1,500 volunteers could benefit each year under the program.

Nationally, the number of volunteer firefighters has declined 10 percent over the past 20 years, while the number of calls to volunteer fire companies rose 50 percent or more. In New York state, the number of volunteers has dropped by at least 11,000 over the past three to five years, to 109,000 according to Jim Williams, President of the Fire Association of the State of New York, a coalition of 2,000 volunteer fire and emergency service companies across the state.

A similar free tuition program was en-acted in 1996 to help fill vacancies in the state's National Guard ranks. That program has benefited over 2,000 Guardsmen a year.

In addition to the free college program, the Senate plan also includes funds to purchase life-saving thermal imaging cameras for fire department across the state. Thermal imaging cameras allow firefighters to peer through smoke and steam to detect heat sources, such as humans who may be trapped inside a burning room or building.

The handheld devices also protect fire-fighters by making victim searches in dark, burning and unstable buildings quicker and more efficient, exposing them to fewer risks, such as collapsing floors and walls.

Last year a law was enacted creating the Thermal Imaging Camera Grant Program, however no funding was allocated for the program. The Senate is proposing to purchase the devices, which cost between $6,700 to $8,500 each, through the use of funds available for homeland security.