Helping the Fire Department Better Serve the Community

The Port Washington Fire Department's mission is to protect and preserve the life and property of the residents of its district. The department's Web site says it is committed to doing this "through the provision of quality cost-effective services in the areas of fire suppression and education, emergency medicine, as well as disasters and other incidents where loss of life or destruction of property is threatened."

The Port Washington Fire Department, one of the largest and busiest volunteer fire departments in New York, has nearly 300 active volunteer members and averages over 2,500 calls for help each year. The department has responded to just over six calls a day since the start of 2010.

But Chief Thomas McDonough said he wants to be able to respond to calls and extinguish fires even faster and more effectively than his volunteers already do, and that he needs residents' help to do so.

"At times, the firefighters find it difficult to find a caller's home in spite of the address highlighted on the 911 screen," McDonough said. "The numbers on people's houses are hard to read and many are non-existent. Too often emergency personnel need to make several passes up and down a block because they can't find the house." The chief explained that the state mandate requires house numbers to be at least four-inches tall and one-half-inch wide, clearly visible and in contrast to the house's exterior.

McDonough said he is also concerned that drivers often don't yield to emergency vehicles as easily as they should. "Although blaring sirens and lights indicate either a fire in process or a medical call, not many cars respond quickly, if at all," he said. "Cars expect us to move when it really should be the other way around. We don't like driving on the wrong side of the road."

In addition, the chief emphasized that the public needs to understand that firefighters are volunteers, not paid professionals. The Port Washington Fire Department is a not-for-profit private corporation providing contractual public safety services to the area known as the Port Washington Fire Protection District. The district is an 11-square-mile area on the northern peninsula of Nassau County that includes the Incorporated Village of Sands Point, the Incorporated Village of Port Washington North, the Incorporated Village of Manorhaven, the Incorporated Village of Baxter Estates and portions of the Incorporated Village of Plandome Manor, the Incorporated Village of Flower Hill and the unincorporated areas of the Town of North Hempstead.

"We try and be patient, tactful and cooperative," McDonough said. "We would only expect to receive what we give."