Long Island fire departments face dwindling numbers as volunteers get older
PLAINVIEW, N.Y. -- Long Island's volunteer firefighters are getting older, and that's putting a strain on dwindling numbers.
As CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reports, there's a push this weekend to get new recruits to sign on.
Twenty-seven-year-old Alyssa Greco, a nurse at her day job, is a Plainview volunteer firefighter and EMT around the clock. She was inspired to make a difference.
"The fire department saved my father's life in a very serious car accident," she said. "It was those critical moments here, extricating him from the car, getting him to the hospital quick enough, that I truly feel if it was not for them, he would not be alive today."
Volunteer fire departments around Long Island could use a lot more like Greco. Their numbers are dwindling.
"We are suffering from lack of junior members, middle-aged members coming into the department," Plainview Fire Chief Andrew Cohen said. "Our department is getting older in age."
"I think the two years of COVID probably was against us in trying to get people to come out," said Peter Mayrose, first deputy chief with the Plainview Fire Department.
The Plainview Fire Department's young volunteers are down 50% in almost a decade, a trend nationwide. Long Island's numbers are stable but getting older.
"Our firefighters are aging out of their ability to be interior firefighters. We're not getting the young men and women in the bottom to fill the bucket again," said Robert Leonard, with the Firefighters Association State of New York. "The bulk of them are going off to college, so that's a challenge. The second challenge is once they've got career, they move back to Long Island, they can't afford to be here, it's the brain drain."
Youth recruitment is vital to keeping the volunteer service alive, saving New York taxpayers $3 billion a year.
Departments are pitching the camaraderie, the training and perks.
"There are educational benefits. There are tax benefits to doing it. There's retirement benefits," Cohen said.
With almost half a century as a volunteer, Larry Baron says it's all of the above.
"Pride, just enjoyment. The knowledge that you may have saved a life," Baron said. "Individually, collectively, we've made a difference in a lot of people's lives."
It is a 24/7 commitment, but the more volunteers, the more flexibility. There will be recruitment drives all weekend at fire departments on Long Island and across the state.
If you can't make it to a firehouse for a recruitment event, you can stop by a firehouse anytime to ask about becoming a volunteer firefighter or EMT. No experience is needed.