Fire News Long Island, 8-22 edition

Page 5

FireNews.com

Fire News, August 2022, Page 5

Announcements TRIBUTE TO LIGHTS PHOTO SHOOT

Register now to have your apparatus photographed with the Tribute in Lights in the background. it’s open to any fire department or emergency medical service or any law enforcement agency. Antique fire apparatus are welcome. Contact Ed Gray: Tunnelcop1@aol.com; Bill Thompkins: Peterscamer a@optonline.net; or Ron Johnson: Photozonfire@optonline.net.

HALESITE JR FIREFIGHTERS WANTED!

The Halesite Fire Department is looking to add new members to their Junior Crabbers program. The program is intended to allow teenagers the opportunity to gain technical and life skills not otherwise available to them and to develop and build teamwork, leadership, confidence, responsibility and the ability to stay calm in an emergency situation. These skills are developed through training drills, coaching, the example set by senior members, and other department and program activities. Juniors must be between the ages of 13 and 17 or aged 12 and entering or already in the seventh grade. For full program details, and eligibility requirements, please come down to meet our current Juniors and Advisors, or visit our Junior’s Wesbite for more information about the program at https://www.facebook.com/HalesiteFDJuniorFirefighters/.

BROOKHAVEN CHINESE AUCTION

The Brookhaven Fire Department and Ladies Auxiliary will hold their 3rd Annual Chinese Auction on September 17, 2022, at their headquarters at 2486 Montauk Highway in Brookhaven. Doors open a 1600 and calling starts at 1800. There will be door prizes, lotto prizes, gift cards, mystery prizes and refreshments available. Bring a non-perishable food item and receive one free white

sheet of tickets. A 50/50 will benefit the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Admission is $10 per person and includes one sheet of 25 white tickets, coffee and dessert. For more information call 631-286-0282, ext. 131 or e-mail: brookhavenchineseauction @gmail.com.

SUFFOLK COUNTY FIREMATIC HISTORIANS MEETING

The Suffolk County Firematic Historians Meeting will be held on Thursday, August 11, 2022, at 1930 at the Islip Town Fire & EMS Museum and Education Center, 4 Courthouse Drive in Central Islip. The feature presentation will be “Lost Firehouses of Nassau County.” It will be presented by Mike Capoziello, founder of the Association of Nassau County Firematic Historians. If you have photos of lost firehouses bring them to the meeting. Light fare food/drinks will be served. RSVP (for headcount) no later than August 5 by contacting Tom Rinelli - Suffolk County Firematic Historians at 631-721-8129 or firerescueguy@gmail.com.

THE LONG ISLAND VOLUNTEER FIREMAN’S ASSOCIATION IS HOSTING A FREE BENEVOLENT ACCOUNTING SEMINAR

The Long Island Volunteer Fireman’s Association is hosting a FREE Benevolent Accounting Seminar on proper administration of 2% funds at Blue Point F.D. on Thursday August 25,2022,7:00p.m.Light refreshments will be served. If interested contact: Don Holupka-(516)-316-5947 or Doug Miller (631)-335-2792

The First PAC for Volunteer Firefighters/EMS in New York State By Peter W. Olson, Ph.D.; Chair of the LI Legislative Committee The Long Island Legislative Committee of Fire Districts (“LI Leg”), established in 1975, is composed of members from both Nassau and Suffolk Fire District Associations. The LI Leg Committee has been instrumental in getting over 30 bills passed in Albany since 2014. It was the LI Leg that collaborated with bi-partisan legislators and Governor Hochul to pass the EMS Cost Recovery Act this past May. Working on this bill required an enormous about of time and money. Time to travel back and forth to Albany to meet with and lobby for fire service bills. To accomplish this daunting task the LI Leg requires funding from each County Fire District Association in Nassau and Suffolk. We discovered that it becomes extremely expensive to lobby legislators in Albany. Each year, the Senate and Assembly review over 15,000 proposed bills, of which, approximately 180 bills may be fire service related. To lobby these bi-partisan bills

becomes an enormous effort by our Committee members. Therefore, the Committee investigated a variety of funding options. After many intense discussions, we decided that a Political Action Committee (“PAC”) would be our most viable option. After additional meetings and lengthy discussions, we created the Long Island Firefighters Legislative Committee PAC, a 501-C4 organization (a not-for-profit organization). This PAC will enable us to contribute to bi-partisan politicians, who will collaborate with and create fire service bills that will benefit both the volunteer fire departments/districts/EMS and their communities. What is a PAC and why should I join this PAC? A Political Action Committee (PAC) in the United States, pools funds from PAC members to be used to support the legislative process. As stated earlier, a PAC allows you to contribute to legislators who will work with and collaborate with your organ-

ization. The volunteer Fire Departments need to have a voice in the legislative process in Albany. A PAC provides a direct link to pro-volunteer fire department legislators. During the past three years, this was blatantly apparent when LI Leg began to push harder for the EMS Cost Recovery Bill. Our Committee members will continue to give their time, and the PAC will provide the funding that we will need to lobby legislators. The reason to join a PAC is simple, you want to have a collective voice in legislative process. The PAC provides the voice and the pressure to move the bills through both the Senate and Assembly. Firefighter volunteerism in New York State continues to decline at a rate of 7-8 percent per year, placing an increased burden on our existing volunteers. As our numbers decline, we need to pass fire service bills that will benefit and protect our fire departments and the communities they serve. Therefore, we, (Continued on page 69)


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