Shelter Island Reporter Editorial: Sounding the alarm

The numbers are in, and the news isn’t pretty.
Virtually all of the area’s volunteer fire departments reported an increase in emergency call responses in 2024, with several hitting record levels.
In 2024, according to Shelter Island Fire Department (SIFD) data, the volunteers answered 223 calls, a spike from the previous year, when the department responded to 186 emergency calls. In November, the Greenport F.D. eclipsed 1,000 calls for the first time in its history en route to a total of 1,144 responses, a 14% increase over 2023.
Mattituck totaled 703 calls on the year, including responses to five active house fires, a “peculiar” number for a department that typically sees one or two such incidents each year, one official said.
Late last month, the SIFD and Island Emergency Medical Services responded within minutes to a blazing house fire. Two people were in the house at the time, and both escaped without injury. The quick, professional response by our volunteers kept the fire contained to one structure, saving neighboring homes and lives.
In Mattituck last November, a fire resulted in the death of Edy Herrera, an immigrant from Guatemala who was working as a dishwasher at C.J’s American Grill in Mattituck.
Around the same time, three separate brush fires demanded the attention of the Riverhead Fire Department over Veterans Day weekend and required the assistance of multiple nearby departments.
Over those same several weeks, brush fires broke out all over New York State, with major concentrations in southern New York and Long Island. Area volunteers assisted in the response to massive blazes in Orange County at the request of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office.
Eight Suffolk County fire departments voluntarily responded and convoyed together to the scene. The East End was well represented, with Shelter Island, Orient, Greenport, East Marion, and Mattituck sending personnel and equipment upstate.
Fires represent just a small fraction of the emergencies that local volunteers are tasked with responding to and typically account for less than one-third of total calls, 2024 reports show.
The vast majority of calls are in response to emergency medical situations — classified as “rescues” in the departments’ reports.
This rising tide shows no signs of ebbing any time soon.
At the same time, recruitment continues to be a major challenge for the majority of local fire departments and the need for more — particularly younger — volunteers is increasingly pressing.
Many potential recruits who move to Shelter Island and the North Fork are coming from places where firefighters are paid to volunteer, providing an incentive to stay involved and compensate for the time burdens of required training.
The Mattituck F.D. currently pays its EMTs, and Cutchogue is in the process of offering paid volunteer opportunities as well. Many close observers feel this trend will continue and believe that eventually all local departments will follow suit and compensate first responders.
Of course, changing decades — even centuries — of public policy is no simple task. But it may be time for all of us to work together — and answer the call.