NYS VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER

The average age of your volunteer department is getting older as time passes. We need your help to continue to serve the Skaneateles community with quality care and service. Contrary to popular belief, we have all manner of different jobs and responsibilities to fit your desire! Consider these positions for department membership:
    Interior firefighter
    EMT/Paramedic
    Apparatus driver/pumper
    Fire police

Or if you would like to offer more corporate-related functions, these positions are a sample of Associate membership:
    Secretary
    Treasurer

Please see any chief or fire officer for an application.

SMOKE DETECTOR INFO FOR YOU

 

Your Skaneateles Volunteer Fire Department joins the New York State Department of State's Office of Fire Prevention and Control in reminding you that smoke detectors save lives. Keep the following suggestions in mind as we work with you, to keep you and your family safe:

1. Place smoke alarms at every level of your home. Pay particular attention to locating them directly outside bedrooms and, if possible, inside the bedrooms themselves.

2. Test smoke alarms monthly.

3. Vacuum your alarms monthly to remove dust and cobwebs.

4. Smoke alarms have a lifespan of approximately ten (10) years. Check the date of your alarms and, if necessary, replace them.

5. Never disconnect your alarm or remove the battery, unless you are conducting some form of maintenance. But if you are, remember to put it back in service before you move on to something else.

ICC PASSES RESIDENTIAL SPRINKLER RESOLUTION

The International Code Council recently passed a resolution making sprinklers mandatory in all new one- and two-family homes. The vote was supported by 73 percent of the members in attendance at a recent conference in Minneapolis, easily surpassing the two-thirds vote necessary.

About 20% of all reported fires are one- and two-story residential fires, and these account for approximately 2/3 of the fire deaths in the United States. The International Residential Code, the model code governing residential construction in 46 states and the District of Columbia, was amended with this in mind. The change had the active support from the fire service (such as the IAFC, IAFF, and the National Association of State Fire Marshals) as well as the Home Safety Council.

Despite the above, various construction groups had historically mounted a concerted effort to prevent the passage of this code. Sandra Dunn, president of the National Association of Home Builders, expressed her dissatisfaction with the vote, noting that "We disagree with this mandate, but our members will continue to advocate for cost-effective construction and life-safety measures through the model code process." Billy Goldfeder, writing in The Secret List (www.firefighterclosecalls.com/secret.php), said it was no secret that the NAHB and its local affiliates went out of their way to try and stop the resolution. But regardless of that concerted effort, the fire service, home safety advocates, and building code officials were able to push through the change.

The new model code mandates fire sprinklers in all new one- and two-family homes by 2011. The ICC states it must now continue its efforts to have the model code adopted into state and local codes.