The Lake Mohegan Fire District is:

The Lake Mohegan Fire District covers approximately 40 sq. miles.  It covers Mohegan Lake, Shrub Oak, Jefferson Valley, Cortlandt Manor, Crompond, portions of Peekskill and Lake Peekskill, and a large portion of Yorktown Heights. 
   
We have four fire stations:
1) Headquarters, Rt. 6 and Lexington Ave in Mohegan Lake
2) Jefferson Valley Fire Station, Lee and Hill Blvd. in Jefferson Valley
3) Furnace Woods Fire Station- Croton Ave. in Cortlandt Manor
4) Hollowbrook Fire Station, Oregon and Westbrook Dr. in Cortlandt Manor.

The Department is a Combination Fire Department.
 This means it consists of career fire fighters and volunteers. Most combination Departments began as all volunteer. But as areas develop, populations increase, roads clog with traffic, and job roles expand, the work load drastically increases. Combined that with citizens working out of the area, the increased dangers in an ever changing fire service, the higher training requirements, and a much higher cost of living in our District, and it is understandable why a full volunteer service could not effectively protect the needs of our residents.

On Duty Personnel
At all times we have at least three career fire fighters on duty at Headquarters and one fire fighter at each of the three sub-stations. Each fire fighter is assigned to a shift and station except four "floaters" who are used to fill vacation and special detail assignments. When these floaters are not "filling in" they are assigned to work shifts as additional fire fighters. In any given shift there are at least six career firefighters on duty plus any floaters. We also have one career Captain on duty Monday through Friday, 9-5, and one career Lieutenant on duty each day of the week from 7:30 AM to 5:30 PM. In all, we have 30 career fire personnel. 

Job Duties

Our career fire fighters do our own dispatching. When you call in an emergency, we (the career personnel) answer the 911 phones and other emergency lines, call out to the appropriate station to respond, notify supporting agencies, alert the volunteers to respond, and then we respond out of Headquarters. 

Although we typically only have one career fire fighter per apparatus we are not "fire drivers". When we arrive on the scene of alarms we perform all facets of fire fighting with very limited personnel. The toughest and most critical part of most emergencies is the first few minutes. If upon arriving on scene of a house fire no volunteers have arrived yet, the first arriving career fire fighter driving either an engine or a ladder truck will don his air pack, stretch a hose line, run back to the fire apparatus and pump its tank water (limited to no more than 500 gallons ) to his hose line, run back and grab the nozzle, enter the burning structure and start fighting the fire. At this point he is often the only fire fighter on scene, with no hydrant connection, and with back up responding from as far as seven minutes away. Because we are guaranteed only three fire fighters ( the ones driving the apparatus ) in a standard response to our biggest emergencies, a special response vehicle, Utility 40, was initiated a few years ago to provide backup support to our career fire fighters. Unfortunately, that safety back-up vehicle is only one additional career fire fighter.  On the scene of an emergency he can be used in any fire fighting capacity necessary.

Most of our fire fighters are required to be emergency medical technicians. Currently all 28 firefighters are EMTs. Because we are in house and always ready to respond, we  provide initial first response to most emergency medical calls. We respond to your house, in a fire truck or a specialized utility vehicle to help stabilize your life threatening illness or injury. The volunteer ambulance corps provides the transport while outside agencies provide the advanced life support. Medical calls make up approximately half of our total call volume.

We also respond to all rescue calls (car accident with injuries, water related emergences, lost persons, rope rescues, etc.), hazardous material incidents, flood conditions, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, etc. We basically respond to any situation you deem an emergency (other than Police matters) to lend a helping hand.

In addition to handling emergencies, our job is to be prepared for emergencies.  We staff the fire houses 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Every change of shift ( twice daily ) communication tests between stations are performed followed by checks of all fire apparatus and equipment. In addition every fire apparatus has a specific day of the week when it gets a complete work out. A detailed check list is run through where all equipment and the apparatus are put into operation to make sure they are operating at full capacity. Some routine maintenance procedures such as waxing the trucks, or cleaning and lubricating hose appliances are assigned on a monthly basis. 

Of course, a large part of being prepared is keeping fit and being up to snuff on procedures and protocols. During down time fire fighters are allowed to use the fitness equipment in each station. Training is mainly given by our Municipal Training Officer. In addition to assigned videos to watch from our video library, we are given power point presentations and hands on training. We have training assignments for every day we work.

And the modest end of our duties:  Maintenance of the fire house. From cleaning windows, to mopping floors, to scrubbing toilets, we do it. 

Call Volume
2002        2739 calls
2005        3197 calls
2006        2714 calls* This years call volume decreased due to the Districts new policy prohibiting our response to certain EMS calls.

Levels of Fire Fighters Abilities

There are three classes of fire fighters:

Class A a fire fighter who is capable of donning an SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) and go into a burning building.

Class B a fire fighter who can help on the outside of the burning building (moving  ladders, pulling hose, etc.).

Class C personnel with sever limits on physical activity, typically only performing administrative or Fire Police activities.

All career fire fighters are Class A interior fire fighters.
Volunteers are not required to be Class A status to be members.

Becoming a Career Fire Fighter

Career fire fighters take the county civil service test competing for their job. The test consists of both a written and physical exam. Only those with the top scores throughout the county are selected for interviews and subjected to complete medical exams to ensure Class A fire fighter status. Career fire fighters are then sent to Westchester County Fire Academy for 12 weeks of intensive training. 

 
Levels of Training- Career Fire Fighters

 In our District new career fire fighters’ minimum requirement is to attend a 440 hour "probie" school ( Fire Academy ). New York State then requires a minimum of 100 hours of training a year. A fire fighter can elect to receive additional training.

Becoming an Officer

The volunteers elect their officers by popular vote from amongst the volunteer company.  Each level of officer does have certain training requirements.

Career officers compete against their piers in a competitive civil service promotional exam and when promoted receive officers training at the FDNY's FLST ( First Line Supervisor Training ) School at Randall’s Island. 

Levels of Training- Career Officers
           
Career Lieutenants’ minimum requirements:

    The above 440 hours plus a minimum of 100 hours of in service training each year. A career fire fighter cannot take the Lieutenant exam prior to completing five years of service. They then attend FLST school FDNY training academy for four weeks at 40 hours per week.
   
Chain of Command

In our Department we have the following officers positions in order of command: one volunteer Chief, two volunteer Assistant Chiefs, one volunteer Captain, three volunteer Lieutenants, one career Captain, and two career Lieutenants. 
               
The chain of command is very controversial. The minimum training levels and the method of promotion is quite different between career personnel and volunteers. In addition the career officers have been held to a different standard of accountability than the volunteer officers have, as it is the career officers profession and the volunteer officers "good deeds to the community". Yet in our Fire Department all volunteer officers outrank all career officers.
 
Ironically, all career officers on our job have over 30 years on the job. That is about the age of some of our volunteer officers.

In addition, only the three volunteer chiefs and the career officers are District officers, meaning the Board of Fire Commissioners approve their status. The volunteer captain and lieutenants are only company officers ( see one District, four organizations, who’s who).  These officers are not approved of by the Commissioners, yet still have higher command status than the District’s career officers.

Every two years these volunteer officers move up to the next position. The Chief of the Department then is granted deputy chief status. They remain in the chain of command equal to our career officers and still above all career fire fighters. They are allowed to respond to alarms with red lights on their personal vehicles.
 

Response Times to Emergencies and the importance of a rapid one.

A major reason for employing career fire fighters is to receive faster response time. This quicker response is also the reason we provide first response to your ambulance needs. Our average response time getting a career fire fighter to your emergencies in a fire apparatus is approximately four minutes.

We are taught...

Response to cardiac arrest...the best chance of living is if CPR begins w/ in 10 minutes of cardiac arrest but preferably with in 4 minutes. Most witnesses to a collapse delay calling for an ambulance for 2 minutes or more and many 4 to 6 minutes or more. CPR that is initiated more than 4 minutes from collapse and when advanced life support takes more than 12 minutes to initiate care  = "failure zone"- American Heart Association  website. Patients who are shocked with a defibrillator in 4 to 6 minutes or less has a good chance of survival. If not shocked within 8 minutes there is a slim chance of survival. Virtually no one survives if longer than 8 minutes to defibrillation  ( true even with an early response). Clinical death is when breathing and heart stops.  Brain cells begin to die within 4 to 6 minutes. Biological death occurs when your brain cells die, usually within 10 minutes.

 Fire spreads exponentially meaning it takes less and less time to continuously double in size.... in one to two minutes the temperature in a room can exceed 700 degrees. Breathing in air 150 degrees will scorch the lungs and cause death. A waste basket fire in a down stairs room may take two minutes until an upstairs smoke detector activates. In three minutes that room may be fully involved. Upstairs and downstairs hallways may be impassable in four minutes. In five minutes the smoke gas and heat may kill.
 

The Board of Fire Commissioners

The management of the District begins with the Board of Fire Commissioners. The Board consists of five Fire Commissioners, each serving a five-year term.  Each year there is an election in December for one of those Fire Commissioner positions. Any registered voter residing in the Lake Mohegan Fire District can vote. All registered voters living in the Lake Mohegan Fire District should vote. Typically, no more than 600 people out of over 40,000 vote at this election.

The District is its own taxing agency and therefore has the power to levy taxes, subject to adhering to certain limits by law. The duties of these Commissioners consist of overseeing the operations of the Department. Duties include but are not limited to setting a budget and adjusting taxes to meet needs, maintenance and purchase of buildings, fire apparatus, and equipment, personnel matters, setting operational procedures, etc. In short, you entrust this Board to protect you and your family from immediate life threatening  and property destroying  emergencies, while maintaining  prudent spending practices.

The Commissioners have a monthly public meeting. It is rare that anyone attends from outside the fire service, although all residents of the District are welcome. Prior to each public meeting they have a private work session. Commissioners are assigned different positions: finance, insurance, personnel, equipment, and building and grounds. At the public meetings the entire Board of Commissioners vote upon issues brought before them. Before the end of the meeting remarks from the floor are given where the public can ask questions and speak out. 

There are no pre-qualifications to becoming a Commissioner. Some knowledge of the fire service would be helpful but not necessary. The one requirement is one must be a resident of the Fire District. Currently, all five Commissioners are volunteer fire fighters.
 

One Fire District, Four Organizations, Who’s Who?

The Fire District is the governing body commissioned with providing fire service and medical care to its residents. It is the receiver of your tax dollars. The Fire District employs the career personnel. The career fire fighters union organizations name is the Lake Mohegan Professional Fire Fighters Association (that‘s us). The Fire District also "contracts out" fire service to the Mohegan Volunteer Fire Association, the (Fire) Company.  Obviously, this is the organization the volunteer fire fighters belong to. In recent years, the ambulance, once operated as part of the fire service, has separated from it. The Mohegan Volunteer Ambulance Corps still runs out of our Mohegan Headquarters, however it is another separate organization. Some controversy has arisen as to who is primarily responsible for emergency medical care in the District, the ambulance corps or the District. A clear answer has not been given.  In any case they run the ambulances, we provide the first response.    

The District as Tenants

The Fire District owns three of its four fire houses. The District rents our Headquarters building from the Mohegan Volunteer Fire Association.
 

Ambulance Corps

Their volunteer ambulance recently separated from the Fire District. Patient billing is not done by the Fire District but by the volunteer ambulance corps.
 

Incentive Program

A public vote in the Fire District has initiated an incentive program to recruit and retain more volunteers. By this vote of approval, volunteers who respond to a certain percentage of the calls are paid a pension. 


Please visit the Commissioner’s election section for more information on the election, the candidates and our issues influencing our choice for Commissioner.