Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I-Sag Harbor) today announced that his legislation, directing the Office of Fire Prevention and Control to form a task force and issue a report relating to volunteer firefighter recruitment and retention, has been signed into law by the Governor as Chapter #258 of the Laws of 2020.

Volunteer firefighters serve an important function as first responders and have been on the frontlines of defense as the battle with COVID-19 rages on. Unfortunately, volunteer fire districts/departments have been challenged by the steady decline in the number of individuals willing to join the volunteer fire service and the current public health crisis has further exacerbated the need to attract the next generation of volunteer firefighters across New York.

To date, the Firemen's Association of the State of New York, Association of Fire Districts of New York, State Association of Fire Chiefs and New York State Fire Coordinators have done a remarkable job in doing what they can to be of assistance, but the time has come for the State to step up in taking an active role in resolving this issue. This new law will bring together a group of key decisionmakers from relevant state agencies, firefighter associations and policy makers to determine necessary solutions to fortify the ranks of the volunteer firefighters across New York.

“As Chair of the Assembly Local Governments Committee, I was pleased to join with my Senate counterpart, Senator James Gaughran, in sponsoring this important measure on behalf the volunteer firefighter community. Now, more than ever, we must ensure that every effort is being made to strengthen our volunteer fire service by establishing better practices and new techniques to encourage new members to join. I commend Governor Cuomo for his favorable executive action to effectively achieve this goal.”