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Business as usual for Stuyvesant Fire District
By Bob Green
For Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
STUYVESANT — Charles Stiffler, chairman of the Stuyvesant Fire District Board of Commissioners, agrees with the recent decision not to renew a contract with the Village of Kinderhook for fire protection in the northern part of Stuyvesant.
The area in question includes those parts of Eichybush Road and county Route 21. The Fire District Board of Commissioners said they felt the area could be better served by Stuyvesant. Stiffler notes, “We are going there anyway … we are already travelling that far.”
Stuyvesant Fire Company #1 also offers enhanced equipment and services, he said, including a defibrillator, the ability to perform pump-outs, and more. “We even fill swimming pools, as long as it’s in our district,” he said.
He emphasized repeatedly that the issue comes under the jurisdiction of the commissioners only. “The Town Board doesn’t control fire districts … the Town Board was not involved.” It was the commissioners decision to end the contract, which cost $6,000 annualy.
Stiffler said the commissioners are motivated more by service than by money. “We really feel we should take care of our own,” he said, while also admitting the savings which could result from the change.
Residents with questions or suggestions are invited to get more involved. “They could run and become a member,” he said. Five commissioners serve staggered five year terms, with one seat up for election each December.
Some controversy surrounded the decision in 2007 to end a similar contract with Schodack Landing. “Automatic mutual aid” between fire companies in the two towns means that currently both companies are dispatched in the case of an alarm within the area that was formerly under contract. Residents should have seen no difference in coverage, he said. A similar arrangement is in effect with the Stuyvesant Falls Fire Company.
Many neighboring fire companies have such arrangements, which result both from history on the one hand and the need to accommodate development on the other. Fire districts often do not follow political boundaries. Due to new construction, they may come to include many structures that are closer to some other fire station.
At the same time, it is becoming more and more difficult to attract volunteers to the demanding and dangerous work. Sometimes the company that responds is the one that can get a truck off the floor first, even if it is not closest. Budget constraints leave some small companies unable to fully equip or train themselves up to all regulatory standards.
A system based on paid firefighters could cost far more than the volunteer system. The state now provides incentives for neighboring districts to consolidate, but traditions of neighbors saving the lives of neighbors date back generations in many places, and change has been modest so far.
All of which sometimes leaves volunteers like Mr. Stiffler, who is also Vice President of the Stuyvesant Fire Company #1, feeling misunderstood. “We believe we are doing what’s best for the town,” Stiffler concluded.
This was not the first time the contract with Kinderhook had come into question. During reorganization hearings in 2007, Kinderhook Fire Commissioner Richard Phillips said an earlier plan to end the same Stuyvesant/Kinderhook contract had caused some hard feelings among the parties, so the proposal was withdrawn. He asked for language stating that the reorganization would not mean Stuyvesant “will be taking back the Village of Kinderhook’s area.”
In a triangulation of the current conflict, the Stuyvesant Falls Fire Company has come under some crossfire. Town Of Kinderhook Supervisor Doug McGivney proposed ending that town’s $9,000 annual contract with Stuyvesant Falls for coverage of parts of Route 9H and County Route 25. He recommended engaging the Village of Kinderhook instead, in order to plug the budget hole which will be created if Stuyvesant goes forward with its plan. The Town Of Kinderhook Board has delayed any action.
Residents say they sometimes have trouble following these issues at the local level because the organizations are so numerous and complicated, with fire districts, fire protection districts, fire companies, company officials, and district commissioners all figuring in at different times.
Efforts to better integrate the resources of neighboring companies include a “joint task force” among Niverville and the villages of Kinderhook and Valatie. In Rensselaer County, volunteer firefighters in Defreestville and North Greenbush have increasingly operated as one unit, and could eventually be looking at consolidation, according to Mark Lacivita of the Defreestville Fire Department.
Lacivita addressed Kinderhook’s joint task force last year. “We have been talking about this for 20 years. This was accomplished by a bunch of hardheads sitting at a table. It required lots of unofficial discussions,” he told the task force.
The area in question includes those parts of Eichybush Road and county Route 21. The Fire District Board of Commissioners said they felt the area could be better served by Stuyvesant. Stiffler notes, “We are going there anyway … we are already travelling that far.”
Stuyvesant Fire Company #1 also offers enhanced equipment and services, he said, including a defibrillator, the ability to perform pump-outs, and more. “We even fill swimming pools, as long as it’s in our district,” he said.
He emphasized repeatedly that the issue comes under the jurisdiction of the commissioners only. “The Town Board doesn’t control fire districts … the Town Board was not involved.” It was the commissioners decision to end the contract, which cost $6,000 annualy.
Stiffler said the commissioners are motivated more by service than by money. “We really feel we should take care of our own,” he said, while also admitting the savings which could result from the change.
Residents with questions or suggestions are invited to get more involved. “They could run and become a member,” he said. Five commissioners serve staggered five year terms, with one seat up for election each December.
Some controversy surrounded the decision in 2007 to end a similar contract with Schodack Landing. “Automatic mutual aid” between fire companies in the two towns means that currently both companies are dispatched in the case of an alarm within the area that was formerly under contract. Residents should have seen no difference in coverage, he said. A similar arrangement is in effect with the Stuyvesant Falls Fire Company.
Many neighboring fire companies have such arrangements, which result both from history on the one hand and the need to accommodate development on the other. Fire districts often do not follow political boundaries. Due to new construction, they may come to include many structures that are closer to some other fire station.
At the same time, it is becoming more and more difficult to attract volunteers to the demanding and dangerous work. Sometimes the company that responds is the one that can get a truck off the floor first, even if it is not closest. Budget constraints leave some small companies unable to fully equip or train themselves up to all regulatory standards.
A system based on paid firefighters could cost far more than the volunteer system. The state now provides incentives for neighboring districts to consolidate, but traditions of neighbors saving the lives of neighbors date back generations in many places, and change has been modest so far.
All of which sometimes leaves volunteers like Mr. Stiffler, who is also Vice President of the Stuyvesant Fire Company #1, feeling misunderstood. “We believe we are doing what’s best for the town,” Stiffler concluded.
This was not the first time the contract with Kinderhook had come into question. During reorganization hearings in 2007, Kinderhook Fire Commissioner Richard Phillips said an earlier plan to end the same Stuyvesant/Kinderhook contract had caused some hard feelings among the parties, so the proposal was withdrawn. He asked for language stating that the reorganization would not mean Stuyvesant “will be taking back the Village of Kinderhook’s area.”
In a triangulation of the current conflict, the Stuyvesant Falls Fire Company has come under some crossfire. Town Of Kinderhook Supervisor Doug McGivney proposed ending that town’s $9,000 annual contract with Stuyvesant Falls for coverage of parts of Route 9H and County Route 25. He recommended engaging the Village of Kinderhook instead, in order to plug the budget hole which will be created if Stuyvesant goes forward with its plan. The Town Of Kinderhook Board has delayed any action.
Residents say they sometimes have trouble following these issues at the local level because the organizations are so numerous and complicated, with fire districts, fire protection districts, fire companies, company officials, and district commissioners all figuring in at different times.
Efforts to better integrate the resources of neighboring companies include a “joint task force” among Niverville and the villages of Kinderhook and Valatie. In Rensselaer County, volunteer firefighters in Defreestville and North Greenbush have increasingly operated as one unit, and could eventually be looking at consolidation, according to Mark Lacivita of the Defreestville Fire Department.
Lacivita addressed Kinderhook’s joint task force last year. “We have been talking about this for 20 years. This was accomplished by a bunch of hardheads sitting at a table. It required lots of unofficial discussions,” he told the task force.
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of registerstar.com.
S Montie 44 wrote on Nov 9, 2009 7:29 PM:
" stonepond , I know you just like to speak , I also think it makes you feel important BUT again you have NO IDEA what you are talking about .. So get over it ,,, the town board can not do any thing about it now or ever .......You always said you should get what you pay for and now you will. "
KFD 35 wrote on Nov 13, 2009 7:05 PM:
" I can not see any advantage to the residents in the affected area. I hope a swimming pool fill with hudson river water is only the beginning of what the Stuyvesant Fire Co. can offer. Just an FYI, the average swimming pool holds 20,000 gallons. That would be 11 trips with their 1800 gal. tanker. Boy, that would be tax payer dollers well spent. And lets not forget that it will take twice as long to respond to that part of their district that KFD covered. "
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stonepound wrote on Nov 9, 2009 6:43 AM: