Suffolk County volunteer fire response strained as calls rise, staffing falls

Suffolk County’s volunteer emergency system is carrying more calls with far fewer people, and officials warned that the pressure is beginning to reach response coverage in a county where nearly every fire and EMS agency depends on neighbors answering the alarm.

County officials said active volunteers have fallen to about 13,000 across 109 fire departments and 28 EMS agencies, after a loss of roughly one-third of the volunteer force over the past five years. At the same time, fire dispatch calls have risen 37% and working house fires are up 16% this winter, while Suffolk County EMS reported a 68% spike in cold-exposure calls and a 147% jump in water-flow-related service calls during the harsh weather.

Leaders said service has not broken down, but the margin for error has narrowed. As departments send volunteers beyond their own districts to fill gaps, mutual-aid resources can be stretched thin, a strain that could lengthen response times in some communities if shortages deepen.

The warning landed at the Commack Fire Department on Feb. 20, when Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine, Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services Commissioner Rudy Sunderman and Legislator Sal Formica urged residents to sign up. Romaine said the county’s volunteer ranks had declined even as emergency calls increased, and county officials tied the staffing problem to Long Island’s high cost of living, dual-income households, longer work hours and a shortage of affordable housing.

Officials said volunteers must be 18 to join, and younger recruits often leave after only a few years because they cannot afford to stay in the area. To slow the drain, the county has promoted tax benefits, college tuition reimbursements, free training, free equipment and property tax reductions as incentives for new members.

County leaders have also pushed for a change in state law to allow modest “pay per call” or “pay per shift” compensation, which they said is now restricted. Suffolk has partnered with the Firefighters Association of the State of New York on a recruitment drive and has promoted the suffolksbravest.com volunteer site as a way to funnel applicants into local departments.

The crisis is not isolated to Suffolk. County officials cited a 2024 push that pointed to FASNY data showing volunteer staffing across New York had dropped by 20,000 in a decade, with statewide volunteer fire and EMS ranks falling 33%, from 120,000 in the 2000s to about 80,000. Officials also noted that Shelter Island Fire Department staffing had dropped from 173 volunteers in 1980 to 62 today, a reminder of how quickly local coverage can erode when recruitment cannot keep pace with demand.