Volunteer Firefighters Needed: Open Houses Today/Tomorrow

Erie County Volunteer Fire Companies are joining a statewide effort this weekend to recruit 600 new firefighters.  Volunteer Fire Departments across Erie County will be conducting open houses today and tomorrow in hopes of signing up some new recruits.

Erie County Emergency Services Deputy Fire Coordinator Tiger Schmittendorf was quoted in The Buffalo News this week as saying "The goal of this campaign is to step it up a notch to make sure that we have adequate bench support to sustain us well into the future." Schmittendorf added the number of volunteers has reportedly dropped from ten-thousand 20 years ago to five-thousand now.

The open houses scheduled for both today and tomorrow go along with a statewide "Volunteer NY" campaign run by the Firemen's Association of New York to encourage more people to volunteer as firefighters.

For more info on RecruitNY.org click here.

For a complete list of open houses at Erie County Volunteer Fire Companies click here.