Real, tangible recognition for volunteer firefighters

When the alarm sounds, it doesn’t ask if you’ve had dinner with your kids yet, or whether you can afford another tank of gas this week. Volunteer firefighters across New York answer — more than 80,000 of them, many right here on Long Island. They do it on their own time, often at their own expense, because their neighbors are counting on them.

That’s why we’re asking Gov. Kathy Hochul to sign the volunteer firefighter and ambulance worker tax credit bill, sponsored by State Sen. Monica Martinez (D-Brentwood) and Assemb. Karen McMahon (D-Williamsville), that passed both houses of the legislature with bipartisan support. It would increase the income tax credit from $200 to $800.

This credit goes directly into the pockets of the men and women who show up — people who cover their own fuel, gear and training costs just to keep serving. On Long Island, that might mean a volunteer leaving a construction site midshift because the tones dropped, or a parent stepping out of a kid’s soccer game because their department is shorthanded that night. It means gear that has to be maintained, certifications that have to be renewed, and transportation at the ready — all funded, in part, out of volunteers’ pockets. For someone balancing a full-time job, a family and a pager that can go off at 2 a.m., a stronger tax credit is real, tangible recognition that the sacrifice hasn’t gone unnoticed.

It also matters for the future of the volunteer fire service itself. These volunteers save New York taxpayers billions of dollars each year while providing essential emergency services to their communities. Yet, departments across the state — not just in rural counties, but in suburban communities like ours on Long Island — are struggling to recruit and retain firefighters. Younger volunteers are weighing the hours against the cost, and too many are deciding they can’t make the math work. Every volunteer who steps back because the personal cost has become too high is a gap in coverage for the community they once protected.

Retaining the volunteers we have is vital, as each member who leaves the service reduces the level of protection for residents and places more strain on neighboring departments through increased mutual aid responses and slower response times. Ultimately, supporting volunteer first responders is an investment in public safety.

A stronger tax credit won’t solve recruitment and retention issues on its own, but it sends a clear signal to the next generation of volunteers — and those already serving — that their commitment is valued in a way that shows up in their household budget, not just in a proclamation.

Gov. Hochul understands this world better than most. She comes from a region built on the backs of volunteer firefighters, and throughout her career she has stood with the volunteer fire service, from Buffalo to Albany to Long Island. This bill isn’t asking her to take a new position — it’s asking her to put a position she already holds into action with her signature. Few pieces of legislation this session offer the governor such a clean opportunity to deliver for a constituency that has already given her its trust.

New York has the opportunity to return the favor and respond to the 80,000 volunteer firefighters and their families who are calling for the state’s help.

This guest essay reflects the views of Robert J. Macaluso, the Deer Park Fire Department’s chief of department.