By Fred Stabbert III
SULLIVAN COUNTY — They want you!
A dozen fire departments from across Sullivan County will be opening their doors next weekend – April 21 and 22 – in an effort to educate their community about the fire service and hopefully pick up a few new recruits.
“Recruit NY 2012 is a program which was started last year by FASNY (Firemen’s Association of the State of New York),” Public Safety Commissioner Dick Martinkovic said yesterday. “Our local fire departments are the lifeblood of emergency response in Sullivan County and any time we can promote their importance, we will.”
The dozen Sullivan County Fire Companies which are participating in this year’s program are Fallsburg, Grahamsville, Highland Lake, Jeffersonville, Lake Huntington, Liberty, Loch Sheldrake, Monticello, Neversink, Smallwood/Mongaup Valley, Woodridge, and Yulan.
The dates and times of their open houses are listed in the accompanying chart.
Last year 53 of the 62 counties in New York participated, more than 150 media outlets were reached and stories of this event infiltrated the news.
The vast majority of Sullivan County’s firefighting community is volunteer with only Monticello having several paid drivers.
The fire service is hoping that this year’s program will afford residents an opportunity to visit their local firehouse, and learn more about their volunteers while attracting new members to their ranks.