NYSAFC is offering a new Regional Hands-On Training program for fire departments across New York state to host locally. “Beyond the Basics” is a full-day, eight-hour program that features seven hands-on training stations covering hoseline advancement, forcible entry, survival skills, ladders, saws, vent enter search (live fire evolution), and thermal imaging camera techniques (live fire evolution). Students will complete all stations over the course of the day. This highly interactive program will keep every firefighter engaged and is geared toward firefighters operating in low-manpower situations. The program will debut this fall in Monroe (November 5-8) and Oneida (November 21-22) Counties. Registration is open for both programs and a host registration form is available for agencies interested in hosting future programs.

 This free, full-day program coordinated by the NYSAFC Fire Investigation Committee and OFPC Investigations Branch will be held on June 16 at The Oncenter in Syracuse in conjunction with the NYSAFC 115th Annual Conference & FIRE 2021 Expo. Students can earn course credits by completing the six-hour session “Fire Investigation for the Line Officer” and training concludes with the lecture “Perils and Pitfalls of an Inadequate Fire Investigation.”

All volunteer and career fire service personnel are invited to attend this free program, coordinated by the NYSAFC Industrial Chiefs Committee, on June 17 at the Marriott Syracuse Downtown in conjunction with the 115th Annual Conference & FIRE 2021 Expo. This seminar will include a roundtable discussion led by a panel of industry experts and industrial fire chiefs, followed by a networking luncheon. The interactive program provides an open forum for participants to learn more about operations at industrial facilities and how this applies to municipal fire departments responding to these facilities. Personnel of all ranks are welcome.

The U.S. House of Representatives took a major step to protect public safety communications across the nation. By a vote of 410-5, the House voted to pass H.R. 451, the Don’t Break Up the T-Band Act.

The U.S. Treasury Department has claimed that it was bound by law to take millions of dollars away from the New York City Fire Department’s treatment fund, but a review by the Daily News and by lawmakers irate over the vanishing dollars found that is not the case.

Just before the U.S. marked the 19th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the police officers, firefighters, and construction workers who risked their lives and compromised their health toiling at Ground Zero won what could be called coronavirus 'insurance.'

Formed in 2005, the Task Force was created to obtain data regarding adverse health effects on workers who participated in rescue, recovery, and response at the World Trade Center, identify limitations of existing programs for disabilities of such workers, and make recommendations to improve access and scope of these programs.

2nd Assistant Fire Chief James P. Brooks succumbed to injuries as a result of an early-morning mutual aid structure fire in May.

State to engrave names of 21 fallen firefighters on the Memorial Wall in 2020. Fallen firefighters memorialized in 2020 will also be honored at the 2021 ceremony.

On Sunday, October 4, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the lives of 82 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2019 and 21 firefighters who died in previous years will be remembered in the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s production of America’s Tribute to Fallen Firefighters. This 45-minute special will be available to watch on the NFFF website and social media platforms.

Those 27 firefighters died of 9/11-related illnesses in the past year, bringing the total number of firefighters killed after the World Trade Center attacks to 227.

Retention has long been a challenge for many volunteer and combination fire and EMS departments.

The firefighters handed in resignation letters after being suspended, according to the department.

Back pay is connected to a longtime contract dispute with the city.

A ladder truck rushing to a fire slammed into an ambulance carrying a man who had suffered a heart attack, killing him and injuring 11 others.

The James Gordon Bennett Medal will now be named for Chief Peter J. Ganci, who was killed on 9/11.

After a fire damaged her home in the Adirondacks last August, TV personality and cook Rachael Ray discussed fire safety and prevention with Fire Investigator Gregory Amyot of NYS DHSES.

NYSAFC has announced the following updates for upcoming classroom programs. The “Fire/EMS Behavioral Health: The Price We Pay” Chautauqua County workshop has been canceled. All other workshops will continue as scheduled. For the 2020 Seminar Series “Hoarder House Fires: Our Worst Nightmare,” the Chautauqua County seminar has been canceled, attendance for the Rockland County seminar is limited to 40 students, and the Fulton County seminar has been rescheduled for October 29. Pre-registration is encouraged for all classes. As the COVID-19 pandemic is a fluid situation and state mandates are subject to change, please visit the NYSAFC website for the most current information on upcoming programs.

Registration is open for 2021 Flashover programs scheduled for Erie, Genesee, Jefferson, and Ulster Counties! Limited space is available for the October 2020 Flashover programs in Rensselaer and Saratoga Counties. Please contact the NYSAFC office for session availability. Registration is also open for the recently announced Fire Behavior On the Inside program scheduled for 2021 in Clinton County. The October 2020 program in Ulster County is sold out. Programs are now being booked for the new year based on the availability of NYSAFC’s mobile training unit.

If your department or agency provided aid to the Point Breeze Fire Department during Hurricane Sandy, the department would like to hear from you. Past Chief Marty Ingram is developing a documentary detailing the devastating 2012 storm.

 View the NYSAFC calendar of events.