Youth Training Day readies the next generation of firefighters

Aug. 29—WEST POTSDAM — It isn't every day that you see dozens of kids outfitted with full firefighter gear, running drills in preparation for the real thing. But that's what happened Saturday in Potsdam at the St. Lawrence County George E. Briggs Fire Training Center, as part of the Firemen's Association of the State of New York's Youth Training Day — a biannual occurrence.

Joe Finnegan, former president of FASNY, said Youth Training Day is a statewide program initiated by FASNY, geared specifically toward junior firefighters.

These are kids, he said, who are not yet active firefighters, but who one day hope to be.

Thirty-one children aged 14 to 21 showed up, which many people said was remarkably high given that this was the first ever Youth Training Day north of Syracuse.

Matthew R. Denner, director of St. Lawrence County Emergency Services, said although the program is done throughout the state, there "has never been this many kids."

"Last year, in Cortland," he said, "there were about 9 kids who showed up."

This was good news to Mr. Finnegan, who lamented the decline of volunteer firefighter numbers.

"Our numbers are dwindling," he said. "At one point there were 130,000 volunteers in FASNY. Now, that number is down to less than 100,000."

He reasoned that the decline was the result of changes in society.

"There's more things competing for kids' time," he said.

Nevertheless, he said, "It's great to see this level of interest. Many of the fire departments have junior youth programs. Without them, there is no future for us."

Dale Barker, a Youth in the Fire Service community member, described the five stations the kids had to go through as part of firefighter training.

The first, he said, is water supply. That is where they learn how to access the water through hoses needed to squelch the flames. The next station is ladder placement, which shows kids how to safely raise and place ladders.

Then there is hose advancement, in which the kids had to stretch a hose up to the third story of the "burn building" used to simulate a real fire event. Next, there was the fire extinguisher station, where they learned how to use both water and dry chemical extinguishers.

Finally, the kids had to go through "decon," short for decontamination, which sanitizes them of fire-related carcinogens and other toxins encountered on the job.

Thomas Murray, vice president of Northern New York Volunteer Firemen's Association, thinks the skills learned by the kids at Youth Training Day extend beyond becoming better firefighters.

"Whatever they decide to do in life," he said, "this provides good grounding for them. It gives them stability, discipline, and leadership skills."

"You can't get a better spirit than a volunteer," he said.

Laurie Hance, director of FASNY, said, "We're very pleased to bring this to northern New York. It goes to show that, in our area, we've got future firefighters."

Ms. Hance and Mr. Finnegan emphasized their thanks to community fire departments and rescue squads such as Colton, Madrid, Rensselaer Falls, Canton, and Potsdam, for providing equipment and guidance to make Youth Training Day possible.