Welcome to Hughsonville Fire District’s “new and improved” website. After three years, we felt the original design needed some serious attention and asked our IT provider, Duality, to come up with a more user-friendly, visually attractive site.
We believe they have more than met our initial requests.
More of the information designed to keep you aware of current safety concerns is now at your fingertips and more accessible than before.
Community events hosted by the Hughsonville Fire Department are now available without requiring you to “hunt” for them.
Through the use of “quick links,” forms that may be needed by fire district residents are now more easily available for download and printing.
As with anything new, we anticipate that there may be some “glitches” and items needing some additional attention before they are fine-tuned, so bear with us and, if or as they happen, we’ll act to address them in a timely manner.
Finally, our primary mission is to provide our community with the absolute best in fire and life protection. While a website is a useful tool for the community to get a snapshot of who we are and what we do, the best way for you to gain a more complete understanding of exactly what we are doing constantly to ensure your life and property protection is to stop by the firehouse on a Monday evening, walk right in and just talk with some of the dedicated people who put their lives on the line for all of us.
We think you’ll come away with a different, more complete understanding and appreciation of what “goes on” in those buildings at the end of Old Hopewell Road.
Firematically,
The Board of Fire Commissioners
Neighbor,
Perhaps you recall the news stories earlier this year about the $150 million Congressman John Murtha (PA) has appropriated for his 'personal' airport in Johnstown, PA?
Or maybe it was the lead story early this summer about the $15 million 'Airport to Nowhere' in Ouzinkie, Alaska—population 150—and other such Alaska airport give-aways to the tune of more than $80 million tax dollars that caught your attention?
Reports like these definitely caught the attention of the Board of Fire Commissioners.
The Board of Fire Commissioners recently contacted all of our district’s elected federal and state officials with a compilation of the copious data documenting the at best questionable, if not plain wrong, appropriation of taxpayer dollars for questionable “pet projects”. (Full text of letter follows on “Commissioners' Corner”)
The Hughsonville Fire Department, like tens of thousands of its counterparts across the country, exists solely to protect the lives and property of its residents. Twenty-four hours a day, every day of every year that’s all it does. Twenty- four/seven almost 10,000 people depend on our first responders being there for them.
Past requests for federal funding assistance to help ensure that the fire district’s infrastructure is upgraded to provide continuing protection through the 21st century have either been ignored or have received “lip service.” Replying to requests for assistance by claiming that our volunteers’ unselfish efforts are “appreciated” but that there is no funding available is completely hollow in light of the readily available facts.
This time the Board chose to demand of our elected officials an answer to the basic question: If the likes of a John Murtha and a number of almost non-existent locations in Alaska are entitled to receive appropriations of over $225 million—a quarter of a billion dollars!—of taxpayer dollars to fund non-income producing airports, why doesn’t Hughsonville have at least as much entitlement to funding that will benefit thousands of residents?
After a month, only Senator Schumer’s office has responded to our letter with a positive reply. They asked to meet with the Board at the earliest possible opportunity to discuss the many facts cited in the letter.
No one expected to be handed a $7 million check and none was offered. However, Mr. Michael Morey, Hudson Valley Regional Director working out of Sen. Schumer’s Peekskill office, was very honest and forthcoming throughout our meeting. That, in itself, was a refreshing change from past interactions with our representatives.
The following were outcomes by the end of a positive meeting:
• Sen. Schumer will check on the status of the district’s FEMA Firehouse Construction Grant application
• Sen. Schumer will submit a letter to FEMA formally supporting Hughsonville’s grant request
• Sen. Schumer’s office will contact our other representatives to determine how much federal and state funding may be available should the grant request not be successful
• We were directed to contact the other legislators to request that they submit letters of support for Hughsonville’s efforts
• We were provided with important but previously unknown information regarding the proper sequence to follow when utilizing federal and state funding, information that is critical to avoiding loss of funding
While this may not sound like a tremendous step, you need to keep in mind that all but the smallest of the previous requests have been met with the response, “We appreciate all the good work you do but unfortunately there is no funding available.”
To finally have one of our elected officials step up and become an advocate for our fire district’s needs is a major step, indeed.
Be sure to return here often for continuing updates on progress.
Hughsonville Board of Fire Commissioners
