The Hurley Town Board spoke with representatives from the Hurley and West Hurley Fire Departments at their workshop meeting Tuesday evening to try to find solutions to chronic personnel shortages. The conversation was the first step in an effort to bring more volunteers to the departments.

“Many know that there is an ongoing challenge,” said Town Supervisor Melinda McKnight. “There's less and less volunteerism, throughout all sectors, not just fire and EMT — but in every in every possible way, there's less and less people who are able and willing to volunteer their time.”

West Hurley EMS Lt. Kent Fitzgerald and Hurley Fire Department Assistant Chief Conner Dugan both confirmed an ongoing strain on staffing. With 60 members and 12 EMTs, Fitzgerald said his department was stretched thin to respond to about 365 EMS calls in 2023 alone. He and Dugan added that emergency personnel from the Marbletown Fire Department often respond to calls that they’re just too busy to get to quickly.

“We've relied heavily on Marbletown, very heavily,” said Dugan.

As Hurley’s population ages, Fitzgerald told Kingston Wire that the nature of calls to the departments have changed. There are more emergency medical services calls with more life-threatening emergencies and accidents. According to Fitzgerald, however, the departments’ staffing problems are not unique.

“Every volunteer fire department/EMS service in the world faces staffing issues,” he said.

The reasons are multifaceted. Many eligible volunteers are starting families and careers, leaving an age gap in those in their mid-20s to mid-40s. Most volunteers are very young or past middle age.

“Our most active EMT is 74 years old,” Fitzgerald said.

The training requirements for EMTs have also increased. Some 190 hours of training must be completed to receive certification.

“The professionalism is certainly embraced,” Fitzgerald said, but added that the long training period dissuades many aspiring volunteers.

According to McKnight, one solution to understaffing might be to create a special taxing district in Hurley. Ambulance services within the district would be funded by taxes from property owners. The town may also consider adopting a new state law that allows municipalities, school districts and fire districts to give property tax exemptions of up to 10 percent to volunteer firefighters and EMS workers who have served for five years or more. If adopted in Hurley, the law could incentivize residents to join up.

However, McKnight said the town is a long way away from making any decisions and needs to discuss options further with representatives of the departments.

“This is the very beginning of a conversation,” she said.

McKnight had her own reasons to have EMT workers on her mind. Several weeks prior, a bear broke open a beehive on her and her husband’s property. When McKnight’s nine-pound poodle rushed to confront the animal, her husband then rushed to save the dog. The bear was scared off and the poodle survived the attack, but Bill McKnight received over a dozen bee stings that sent him into anaphylactic shock. He spent the night in the hospital, but his wife credited the West Hurley EMTs’ swift response with his survival.

“I need to express gratitude again for the wonderful job that West Hurley Fire Department EMTs did for me personally and saved my husband's life two weeks ago,” she said.

As for the poodle, she said, “She's either the bravest or most stupid dog ever.”