RUSH FIRE DISTRICT – NEWSLETTER INFO

FOR APRIL & MAY – 2016

FIRE DISTRICT:

HENRIETTA AMBULANCE: They have been given authority to extend their CON (Certificate of Need) into the

Town of Rush. This means they can bill Medicare for transports of those patients. For the past 6 years they have

provided a full ambulance into Rush for calls from 6 am to 6 pm. 70% of these patient required ALS which the Rush

ambulance does not provide. They had to cover 20 calls that were basic life support that we couldn’t get a crew out

of 215 calls.

FIRST RESPONDERS: When we have a call all members are notified by voice pager and phone text. For a serious

call those who live close can go to the scene. We respond with a “First Responder” that has the proper equipment to

take care of a patient until a transport ambulance can arrive 90% of the time. We are one of a very few departments

that have a system like this in place. Henrietta Ambulance or Honeoye Falls/Mendon usually show up within four or

five minutes after our F/R is on scene. If it is a serious patient they would probably go into the HVA ALS or

Honeoye Falls-Mendon ALS ambulance anyway.    

AMBULANCE COVERAGE: The fire commissioners and fire department are still working on the lack of crews for

the Fire Department operated ambulance. This service is not required by NYS law and is optional for fire district to

provide any type EMS or ambulance service. Since 1939 the Fire District has allowed the Fire Department to operate

an ambulance service. Getting a crew and ambulance on the road is worse than ever since 1939. We only have a hand

full of EMT’s that can ride the ambulance. Five years ago we had 15 today we have 7 that are willing to take calls. We

have very few people around during the day that can give up the time required for an ambulance transport and

associated paperwork. An ambulance call takes 2.5 hours or more to complete.

DUTY OFFICER: From 10 pm to 6 am every night we have a duty officer that responds to every call.

On fire type calls we have a system in place where the closest neighboring FD’s are dispatched the same time we are

so this is not as serious a problem. Most fire/rescue type calls take less than one hour. The automatic alarms take

about 15 minutes and we had 53 of them in 2015.

VIDEO CAMERAS: Due to all kinds of problems taking place around the main fire station such as deer parts in our

dumpster, construction materials in our dumpster, lawn and building damage we are installing surveillance cameras

around the building.

RUSH FIRE DISTRICT WEB SITE: www.rushfiredistrict.org/ is still being worked on and is moving along.

FIRE DEPARTMENT & AMBULANCE: 

2016 PAST OFFICERS BANQUET: 100 members and guest attended the event which was held at the Locust Hill

CC. Stacey Pensgen from Channel 8 was the MC. Past officers Adam Hahnel, Brian Bischoping, Mike Terzo Jr.,

Sean Brown, Jim McNeil and Jake Vogt received plaques for their service. Al Sweet received a plaque and recognition

for his 40 years as a Fire Commissioner. Richard Wheeler & Robert Faugh received their 50 year active duty pins.

These three members also received recognition and certificates from Senator Richard Funke and

Assemblyman Bill Nojay. Others receiving service awards were:  Mike Terzo Jr. 5 Years, Kevin KInnally, Chris Hahn

& Sean Brown – 10 years, Joe Cirincione 15 years, Cathy Henry, Doug Watson & Steve Winner 20 years.

Robert Faugh & Richard Wheeler 50 years. The Ladies Auxiliary donated $2,000 for replacement chairs for their

meeting room. Entertainment was provided by Upstate Vegas gambling. East Avon FD and Henrietta Ambulance

filled in at Rush during the party.                         

RESPONSES IN 2015: Total responses 369, 215 for EMS or the ambulance. 16 MVAs with Injuries and 6 with no

injuries. Rush responded 21 times to our neighbors for stand-bys or to the scene with an average of 10 firefighters

responding. We had 46 Automatic Alarms that were no need for the FD. We had 56 “Good Intent” calls where

someone thought they needed the FD. You can see that automatic alarms remain a serious problem. That being said

we still had an average of 10 members respond to those type calls. There is a false automatic alarm in this

country every 12 seconds.  

FASNY STATEWIDE OPEN HOUSE:  Rush FD will have an open house April 24th from 1 pm to 4 pm. Stop in

and see the equipment. Talk to the volunteers and ask questions about your fire department and ambulance service.

A Rush FD history power point will be showing all day in the meeting room. There will be refreshments. This is an

annual statewide effort to recruit more volunteers and make the community aware of how your volunteer FD and

ambulance services operate.

PEOPLE ARE NOT KNOCKING DOWN THE DOORS TO JOIN THE VOLUNTEER FIRE

DEPARTMENTS. WHY? WE OFFER NO PAY AND VERY FEW BENEFITS, HOURS ARE HORIBLE

AND YOU CAN GET INJURED OR KILLED EVERY TIME THE PAGER GOES OFF! HOWEVER, IN

RETURN, YOU CAN BE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THEN YOU, HELP YOUR NEIGHBOR IN

THEIR GREATEST TIME OF NEED AND EXPERIENCE THAT ADRENALINE RUSH GOING TO AN

ALARM. THAT IS THE MANTRA OF THE VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT.   

2016 FUND DRIVE: In 2015 your volunteers responded to 369 calls for service, They donated over 6,000 hours

to provide emergency service, attend meetings (Local, regional and state), attended training and drills, raise funds

and maintain buildings and equipment. We have only ONE goal and that is to provide the best service we can for you

and your family.

We are 100% volunteer, NO ONE GETS PAID! The EMS responded to 215 calls in 2015. We responded to

154 fire/rescue calls in 2015.  We have a 1^st responder on scene of priority calls within 6.0 minutes of dispatch

 95% of the time!

You should receive the annual fund drive letter and postage paid envelope for the EMERGENCY MEDICAL

SERVICE and FIRE DEPARTMENT operation in May.

We use fund drive money for our scouting, fire prevention programs, training, seminars and two replacement funds –

one for the replacement of EMS vehicle, utility vehicle/brush truck, ATV, boat & trailer. The other is for new

large equipment such as “Jaws of Life” up grades and other heavy rescue equipment. No fund drive money is used

for our few social events. Very few Fire Depts. or Ambulance services can say that!  A major purchase in 2015 was a

new fire pump and bed liner for Utility truck 587.   

TAX EXEMPT STATUS:  We are a tax-exempt 501(C)3 organization. This allows anyone who donates to us to

claim the donation on their income tax and for us to be tax exempt ourselves. We also are listed as a charitable

organization by NYS Attorney Generals web site. You can select us to receive your donation at the United Way. We

are very proud and thankful to the Rush residents who support us with donations.  

WE THANK YOU IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION!