PC Firefighters Join Nearby Departments for Summer Training

Unlike their neighbors in some nearby towns, Port Chester taxpayers don't have to shell out tens of millions of dollars each year to finance their fire department.

Although the Port Chester Fire Department has a small core of paid -- aka career -- firefighters, the majority of firefighters in the department are volunteers, neighbors and friends who roll out of bed at 3 a.m. to rush to fires and still make it to work later the same day.

It's a massive commitment at a time when two-income families are the norm, work commutes are longer than ever and myriad responsibilities eat away at the potential hours volunteers can donate to their favorite cause.

That's why county officials are trying to make it easier for the new, younger generation of volunteers. With summer training programs at the Weschester County Department of Emergency Services, college-age volunteers and others with serious time commitments during the fall and winter months can get qualified and join their departments as full members. Firefighters from Port Chester are among the trainees from more than a dozen Westchester fire departments represented in the summer sessions.

Compressing 87 hours of training into a three-week summer session, the county offers "Firefighter I" training -- hands-on instruction that ranges from proper search-and-rescue techniques to safety measures and fire science.

The county also offers the more advanced "Firefighter II" course, which covers trickier scenarios, like emergencies involving flammable liquids and hazardous materials.

In addition to the mandatory county-run training sessions, members of the Port Chester Fire Department train two or three times a month and attend monthly meetings, in addition to their usual firefighting duties, Chief Kevin McFadden said.

Members of the Port Chester Fire Department consider recruitment an ongoing process, and fire department brass say they're always willing to sit down with potential new recruits. 

Interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter? Recruits should be at least 18 years old, in good physical health, and "willing to sacrifice some time and sweat," the chief said.

Call the chief's office at 914-939-8574 for more information.

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