Firefighters lobby NY state legislature
The volunteer firefighters met with their elected representatives to discuss the Issues that matter to them in the legislature's current session. At the top of that list of issues is a bill that would allow fire departments to recover the costs of providing ambulance services.
The EMS cost recovery bill represents a bipartisan effort to provide parity among
Fire departments provide EMS coverage to nearly half of the state and many of those departments are small and staffed with volunteers. EMS call volumes have steadily risen and many of the departments now handle more ambulance calls than fire runs.
Staffing an ambulance requires a significant investment in personnel, equipment, training, and time, and that has sparked an affordability crisis in the fire service.
The pending legislation allows fire departments to recover the costs of running EMS calls without raising any taxes.
One source of untapped funds is patients' already-existing health care policies. The money recovered would be used to ensure that ambulances can continue to operate with sufficient staffing and be available whenever they are needed, while also enhancing the level of emergency medical services available in the community.
While other ambulance providers in
"Fire departments across
The volunteer firefighters also spokes with members of the state assembly and state senate about:
--Illegal building conversions: To address the issue of illegal building conversions which endanger residents of the illegally converted buildings and fire firefighters.
--Fire Apparatus
--Upholstered furniture fire safety standards: Would enhance fire safety standards for upholstered furniture by methods that do not require the use of cancer causing fire retardants.
--Training for fire chiefs: Relates to the qualifications of fire chiefs in any fire department, fire district or fire protection district that employs fewer than five paid firefighters.
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