COMMISSIONERS ELECTION: The annual Rush Fire District Commissioners election will be held on Tuesday, December 09, 2014 from 6 to 9 PM at the main Rush Fire Station. The election is for a five year term. Mike Terzo Sr. is completing his term as Commissioner and is on the ballot for 2015. This election is open to all registered voters in Rush.
FIRE DISTRICT ANNUAL ORGANIZATION MEETING: Check Rush FD.org home page for time and date. It will be posted on the new LED sign in front of station one also.
ACCESS: The town and state codes require every home owner have emergency equipment (fire & EMS) access to their homes. Some residents in Rush have failed to provide this. When we are aware of this we are notifying the town code enforcement officer. Our fire apparatus are big, have long wheel bases and weigh over 40,000 pounds. They are very costly to repair and have to be taken out of service for extended amounts of time to be repaired. We take pride in the manner that the Rush firefighters keep our equipment parade ready. We don’t need it all scratched and banged up.
NEW SIGN: Has been installed and the computer program is up and running. Our electrician had an accident and the 110 volt wiring will be delayed. We hope by the time you read this Larry Kaplan is back in service. He is an honorary RFD member and donates a lot of time and talent to our operation.
FIRE DISTRICT WEB SITE: It is still under construction and hopefully will be up and running soon. Rushfiredistrict.org – The Fire Departments web site is rushfd.org
FIRE DISTRICT BUDGET HEARING: Our budget is $338,000 for 2015. Your tax rate remains $1.12 per thousand. We also were under the state mandated 2% cap on any tax increases. All taxpayers will receive a check from the state because of this. We have to replace 10 Air tanks at $1,000 each and replace 10 sets of worn out turn out gear at $2,300 each in 2015.
ANNUAL INSPECTION DINNER: It was held at the Riverton golf facility. 30 members attended. This dinner is authorized by state law for the active firefighters of the fire district. Commissioner Mike (Pee wee) Terzo coordinated the affair.
TRAINING EQUIPMENT: A ceiling mounted LCD projector and audio speaker system has been installed in the main meeting room at station one. A wireless mike, blueray / dvd player and lap top computer hook up has also been installed.
HYDRANT MARKERS: It’s time to put those plastic hydrant markers back. They could save your life and property!
CAN YOU BE SEEN? It is dark along our roads – please wear some reflective clothing when jogging or walking and also carry some ID.
BLACK ICE: It is the time of year for “Black Ice” and we have many bridges and areas in town where there are several crashes every year. On days where we could have this ice problem leave early, wear your seat belt and slow down.
RUSH FIRE DEPARTMENT AND AMBULANCE SERVICE:
ANNUAL FUND DRIVE: The annual fund drive second request went out in the first part of November. We sent out over 500 letters to people who our records show did not respond in May. We realize the some give through the United Way but we have not been notified of all their names yet. We also understand that the economy is still not good for many of our residents and they have to watch every penny.
BOAT TRAILER: We are in the process of obtaining a trailer that can haul both boats and some water rescue equipment. Fund drive & Carnival profit money will be used for this purchase.
FACEBOOK: The Rush Volunteer Fire Department has a facebook page. Fire prevention, safety and health hint will be posted along with other information about what is going on at the fire department. Become a friend on our facebook page.
“IS THERE A FIRE IN YOU?” This state wide recruitment program has a goal of 15,000 new firefighters. In just 10 years the number of volunteer firefighters in NYS has dropped from 120,000 to 80,000. www.RushFD.org web site has a link to the state program and information on our home page. There is also a box to click on for membership information.
LADIES AUXILIARY: New Members Please contact Joan Madigan at 229-4168 or email her at: