Frankfort Fire Department needs more emergency medical technicians to cover shifts because its volunteers are finding themselves able to give less hours than in the past.
Herkimer County Community College needs additional housing for students enrolled in its Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic program.
A new “bunk-in” program starting this fall at the fire station will hopefully solve both problems.
The village volunteer fire department this academic year will become the first in Herkimer County to offer free housing to students in exchange for service hours on the force.
To be eligible, students must be at least 18 years old, be enrolled in the college’s EMT/Paramedic program and maintain state Department of Health certification as an EMT basic or greater level provider.
Students will live at the fire station, go to classes and work 25 hours duty time or on-call service for the department per week.
Up to four students will be selected each year, and the program already has two students signed up, according to fire Chief Charles Conigliaro.
It will take several weeks to acclimate the students to department regulations, but then they will be covering emergency calls that meet their certification level, he said, and extra coverage is something volunteer Emergency Medical Service departments in small communities are struggling to find.
Although the number of EMTs at Frankfort has recently increased to 14, having fluctuated in recent years, it is becoming more difficult to fill shifts with existing personnel.
More of the force is getting older, starting families and taking on more responsibilities at work. The change in their lives away from the department is limiting their free hours for shifts in the ambulance.
Reluctant to call his force aging, Conigliaro referred to the reality of demographic changes in local volunteer pools that seem to have fewer young people to draw from.
“It’s a matter of them being available,” Conigliaro said of his current force. “We have to be proactive to address present and future shortfalls, and to consider innovative programs [for] the continuity of emergency services,” he added.
The demand for EMTs is always high, according to Patty Kobie, an instructor with Faxton-St. Luke’s EMS Education program. “Every agency in the area is desperate for EMTs,” she said at a certification course earlier this year at Frankfort’s fire station.
Despite having volunteers filing hundreds of hours for the Frankfort department, which receives almost 500 EMS calls each year, gaps in shifts have caused some calls to be turned over to other local departments, according to Conigliaro.
A bunk-in program, modeled after several departments in Onondaga County, attracts the young recruits who have the skills to fill those hours. Students receive free housing, time to practice patient care and transportation skills and continue to work towards higher classification as a paramedic.
For those wanting to pursue a career in emergency medical services, this is an invaluable incentive.
All EMTs are required to participate in 155 hours of training. Refresher training is required every three years, and the time can be reduced through testing, according to Kobie. The course for members of a fire or ambulance service is covered by the state, but non-members pay $820, which includes materials.
Conigliaro declined to provide a cost to the fire department budget for implementing the bunk-in program. It involved buying furniture and securing wireless Internet service for the students, he said. An existing room at the station was used for the housing.
The bunk-in program, if not filled, will also accept members from other departments who wish to enroll in the HCCC course, according to Conigliaro. They will remain on their agencies’ insurance while the HCCC students from outside the region will be considered members of the Frankfort department, he said.
“We are the first in the county to try this,” Conigliaro said. “It’s a little bit outside of the traditional...but I think in due time the benefits will be proven,” he added.
Interested students must complete an application to the Frankfort Fire Department and be accepted as a member of the department in order to participated in the housing option, according to college officials. Applications are available online at www.villageoffrankfortny.org.
For more information about the program, contact Conigliaro at 894-8621 or by e-mail at ccong4320@netzero.com.
For more information on the HCCC Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic program, call 866-0300 ext. 8278 or send an e-mail to snyderhb@herkimer.edu.
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Frankfort Fire Department needs more emergency medical technicians to cover shifts because its volunteers are finding themselves able to give less hours than in the past.
Herkimer County Community College needs additional housing for students enrolled in its Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic program.
A new “bunk-in” program starting this fall at the fire station will hopefully solve both problems.
The village volunteer fire department this academic year will become the first in Herkimer County to offer free housing to students in exchange for service hours on the force.
To be eligible, students must be at least 18 years old, be enrolled in the college’s EMT/Paramedic program and maintain state Department of Health certification as an EMT basic or greater level provider.
Students will live at the fire station, go to classes and work 25 hours duty time or on-call service for the department per week.
Up to four students will be selected each year, and the program already has two students signed up, according to fire Chief Charles Conigliaro.
It will take several weeks to acclimate the students to department regulations, but then they will be covering emergency calls that meet their certification level, he said, and extra coverage is something volunteer Emergency Medical Service departments in small communities are struggling to find.
Although the number of EMTs at Frankfort has recently increased to 14, having fluctuated in recent years, it is becoming more difficult to fill shifts with existing personnel.
More of the force is getting older, starting families and taking on more responsibilities at work. The change in their lives away from the department is limiting their free hours for shifts in the ambulance.
Reluctant to call his force aging, Conigliaro referred to the reality of demographic changes in local volunteer pools that seem to have fewer young people to draw from.
“It’s a matter of them being available,” Conigliaro said of his current force. “We have to be proactive to address present and future shortfalls, and to consider innovative programs [for] the continuity of emergency services,” he added.
The demand for EMTs is always high, according to Patty Kobie, an instructor with Faxton-St. Luke’s EMS Education program. “Every agency in the area is desperate for EMTs,” she said at a certification course earlier this year at Frankfort’s fire station.
Despite having volunteers filing hundreds of hours for the Frankfort department, which receives almost 500 EMS calls each year, gaps in shifts have caused some calls to be turned over to other local departments, according to Conigliaro.
A bunk-in program, modeled after several departments in Onondaga County, attracts the young recruits who have the skills to fill those hours. Students receive free housing, time to practice patient care and transportation skills and continue to work towards higher classification as a paramedic.
For those wanting to pursue a career in emergency medical services, this is an invaluable incentive.
All EMTs are required to participate in 155 hours of training. Refresher training is required every three years, and the time can be reduced through testing, according to Kobie. The course for members of a fire or ambulance service is covered by the state, but non-members pay $820, which includes materials.
Conigliaro declined to provide a cost to the fire department budget for implementing the bunk-in program. It involved buying furniture and securing wireless Internet service for the students, he said. An existing room at the station was used for the housing.
The bunk-in program, if not filled, will also accept members from other departments who wish to enroll in the HCCC course, according to Conigliaro. They will remain on their agencies’ insurance while the HCCC students from outside the region will be considered members of the Frankfort department, he said.
“We are the first in the county to try this,” Conigliaro said. “It’s a little bit outside of the traditional...but I think in due time the benefits will be proven,” he added.
Interested students must complete an application to the Frankfort Fire Department and be accepted as a member of the department in order to participated in the housing option, according to college officials. Applications are available online at www.villageoffrankfortny.org.
For more information about the program, contact Conigliaro at 894-8621 or by e-mail at ccong4320@netzero.com.
For more information on the HCCC Emergency Medical Technician/Paramedic program, call 866-0300 ext. 8278 or send an e-mail to snyderhb@herkimer.edu.
