Tuesday is Fire, Rescue and EMS Day at the New York State Fair.
Fairgoers can visit the Fire Prevention Center and the House of Hazards in the Science and Industry Building. A longtime fire chief, Nedrow’s Rick Nemier, spends quite a bit of time at the fair educating people about safety.
“I’ve been doing this since 1995," Nemier said.
What You Need To Know
- Fairgoers can visit the Fire Prevention Center and the House of Hazards in the Science and Industry Building
- Nedrow Fire Chief Rick Nemier is at the fair as a member of the Firefighters Association of the State of New York
- Nemier is not only helping to promote fire safety and prevention tips, but also working to recruit volunteer firefighters across the state
Nemier, 65, is representing his volunteer department at the fair, but he’s also representing the Firefighters Association of the State of New York. Last year, he was named FASNY’s educator of the year for his time teaching students about safety in local schools.
He’s using his knowledge to help educate guests at the fair, and even if it’s not new information, we can always use simple reminders.
“If you come back here, we can refresh your memory. I did the fire extinguisher thing where you tip your extinguisher over and shake it up every time you check your battery. Even though you’ve got the 10-year battery on your smoke detector, you still want to test it twice a year,” he said.
There are also newer topics such as improper use of lithium batteries that visitors are encouraged to learn about.
“Obviously, lithium batteries are big. A big ticket item. A lot of problems with it. EV cars. So … each year, we’re going to try to bring in stuff that’s relevant,” Nemier said.
Aside from providing fire prevention and safety tips, Nemier is trying to recruit more volunteers for departments statewide. He’s representing the Onondaga County Volunteer Firemen’s Association, but he’s also on FASNY’s recruitment retention team.
“There’s a lot of jobs at the firehouse, so if you don’t want to run into a burning building, we can do just EMS only,” Nemier said. “We can do just the business stuff. There’s the treasurer’s job, there’s the president’s job. There’s the executive side. There’s a lot of jobs in the fire service that you can help with.”
Nemier said if he can recruit just one volunteer or help one person prevent a fire, then his hours of time spent at the fair are worth it.
“The more knowledge you have, the better off you are,” he said.
FASNY members will have additional staff looking to recruit volunteers today. You can find a booth set up in the Fire Prevention Center.