Volunteer firefighters in Central New York and across the state can now get a state stipend for completing required training courses. The state has set aside $10 million to cover the payments, which they hope will serve as a recruitment and retention tool.
The stipends range from $500 to more than $1,200 depending on the course. Edward Tase is president of the Firefighters Association of the State of New York or FASNY, which represents more than 80,000 volunteer firefighters. He says they’ve been seeking this benefit for years.
“This is an incentive to put something in the hands of the younger firefighters that want to step up their plate today," Tase said. "It gives them something right now that they can get for their training, compensates them for a little bit of their time.”
Tase says that time can be valuable.
“It's well over 150 hours of training that these individuals have to take for a basic firefighter and that's a lot of time away from home," Tase said. That's a lot of time away from the family soccer games, the baseball game for the kids, the people working two or three jobs today.”
Tase says some of the funding is also being used to hire more trainers to speed up the process. He says FASNY has also been trying to increase a $200 income tax credit for volunteers.
“That was done in 2006. 18 years later, it's still at $200. With the cost of living where people are living at today, we need to increase that to $800. The New York State Senate has recognized our need, but unfortunately the State Assembly pulled it from the budget this year. But we're still fighting, I'm going to continue the fight.”
Tase says he’s also pushing the state to allow volunteer firefighters to claim the income tax credit and an available property tax credit. He says for someone like him who owns a home, he can only claim one of the credits.
Tase says even as the number of volunteers shrinks, they’re always committed to serving their communities.
“The Volunteer Fire Service and firefighters in the state will never say no," Tase said. "They're going to be at your department. Sometimes we have to call in two or three departments to help us get the manpower to do the job. But the volunteer fire service will never say no.”
Onondaga County alone is protected by 57 departments, with many dating back to the early 20th century.
