Information, All in the Fire Service Need to Understand – How does it all happen?
Posting by Dave Denniston
On December 6th, 2025, the major fire service organizations representing volunteer firefighters in NYS met in Albany, NY with the NY Fire Administrator and our Lobbyists to discuss and ratify the “Issues of United concerns”. Discussions focused on challenges faced by the fire service and legislative initiatives that the organizations felt would help the volunteer fire service continue to be viable and protect our communities. I participated in these discussions as an active volunteer firefighter here in NY, and as VP of the Association of Fire Districts of the State of NY. I can only speak for myself, but I felt these discussions were heartfelt and produced solid options that can be used as tools to shore up the continued concerns and significant drop in volunteer firefighter numbers across the state. It was clear to me at this meeting that no one solution would fit all departments or solve all of the concerns alone. The group voted on each proposal, and the 2026 list of United Concerns was developed. The list does not include every item that was discussed but represents the items that the majority of the collective group felt had the most potential and opportunity to actually be passed by the elected officials.
These solutions were a group effort of all the organizations that participated in the process. While there now seems to be other proposals and ideas out there, I have to wonder why we are deviating from the collective efforts of all involved in that process.
Many have asked what they can do to help these efforts. I ask you to read the 2026 Issues of United Concerns and urge the fire service organizations and elected officials to move forward and prioritize these seven concepts that were voted on and recommended that day.
Unfortunately, there is no single initiative that will work the same for everyone. There is no single initiative that is perfect. There is no single initiative that will benefit everyone the same and be guaranteed not to cause anyone some discomfort or challenges.
These 7 initiatives are a solid start and foundation to offer a path forward to help move us toward the future of emergency response here in NYS. Please consider endorsing them and asking others to join us in these efforts. Together, we can and will make this happen. Separately, we will continue to watch the current model struggle to protect our communities.
Please share and help distribute this list. If you would like to add your name, logo, department, or organization to the list of supporters, please let us know and we would be happy to add you to the documents that we plan to present in Albany during the month of March. Please help us help you.