WEST CARTHAGE, New York (WWNY) – Volunteer fire departments across New York State opened up their fire houses Saturday for the fourth annual Recruit NY volunteer firefighter recruitment weekend.
Several local departments across the north country took part in the recruitment event. Fire halls hosted tours, demonstrations of how to roll hoses and use turnout gear, and some even gave away free hot dogs or put on a pulled pork dinner.
“You have to open your doors and get people in to meet who you are, see what you do, and hopefully spark that interest inside that you know will want to bring them back,” said West Carthage Fire Chief Peter Crump.
“It’s important that people are in here to see when we show up what we’re gonna do and maybe get a few people to volunteer,” said Town of Browvnville District Fire Chief Ryan McIntosh.
While some departments opened their doors to everyone, other fire houses in the north country tried a different approach. The Carthage Volunteer fire department on South James Street hosted individual guided tours of their facility for interested recruits.
“In the past, we’ve had big functions where we’ve actually drawn in a couple hundred people, but we never got applications,” said Carthage Fire Chief Brian Draper. “We changed it up this year. We walked people through explaining, and actually, this has probably been our most successful year so far.”
Last year, nearly 600 departments in 59 counties across New York participated in the Recruit NY weekend. The Firemen’s Association of the State of New York expects that number to be even bigger this year.
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