By GREGORY ZELLER //
Long Island’s volunteer firefighters are getting a major boost from Albany.
Just days after honoring fallen firefighters at the 27th Annual New York State Fallen Firefighters Memorial Ceremony in Albany, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday visited the Deer Park Fire Department in the Town of Babylon to announce $5.3 million in new state investments aimed at enhancing training, improving facilities and bolstering mental-health support for firefighters across Long Island, where volunteers run nearly all of 179 distinct fire departments.
The funding initiatives include nearly $2 million to expand the South Floral Park Fire Department training center – the department has more than doubled its volunteer membership over the last decade – and $300,000 for capital improvements at the Suffolk County Fire Academy, including new training equipment and expanded training facilities.
Hochul also announced a $3 million award to partially fund the acquisition and repurposing of the run-down Deer Park Motel on Commack Road, with the existing structure slated to be demolished and replaced by the Town of Babylon Firefighters and Rescue Personnel Museum.
The museum will be designed to “preserve and share the stories of firefighters past, present and future,” according to the governor’s office, and is slated to include educational and community-gathering spaces.
Rich Schaffer: Motel deep-six.
Town of Babylon Supervisor Rich Schaffer applauded the $3 million stipend, noting the museum – which will replace a crime-infested motel well known among local responders for drug use and domestic violence calls – has been a long time coming.
“That is a project that has been thought of, germinated, discussed and debated at the Town of Babylon Fire Chiefs Association over a number of years,” the supervisor said. “[The motel] is well beyond it’s useful life … and it’s a place that can be turned into a beautiful place that will honor the accomplishments and all of the things that the fire service as done here in the Town of Babylon.”
The $5 million-plus in regional investments are well-deserved by volunteers who “serve with unparalleled bravery and dedication,” according to Hochul.
“Every day, they risk their lives to protect others, often on a volunteer basis,” she said. “Today we recognize their extraordinary contributions by investing in critical resources for these heroes.”
The hefty buy-in also maintains momentum on Hochul’s push for new services aimed at safeguarding the health and wellbeing of statewide first responders.
“That’s why I signed into law legislation to assist firefighters and EMS workers who struggle with mental-health challenges and addiction,” the governor said Tuesday. “I think it’s important we talk about this more openly.”
To your health: Governor Kathy Hochul (center) and several of Long Island’s Bravest celebrate Tuesday’s volunteer-firefighter funding announcement.
While improving the training and honoring the legacy of Long Island firefighters specifically, the investments underscore the critical role volunteer firefighters play across New York State. The state boasts more than 1,600 distinct volunteer fire departments, staffed by roughly 91,000 community-based volunteers – selfless devotion that not only protects residents from life-threatening situations, Hochul noted, but saves taxpayers billions of dollars annually.
Supporting first responders to this extent has become a top priority, according to Hochul, who noted traditional human-limits-testing challenges like fires and car accidents are now exacerbated by a “bombardment of weather-driven events that are destroying property and turning people’s lives upside-down.”
“Our first responders are more critical than ever before,” the governor said. “I’m going to keep investing in your future.”
