Central New York volunteer firefighters giving back to community

By Marilyn Pinsky

What do a trombonist, a law professor, a steel worker, a nursing professor, an X-ray technician and a fire coordinator have in common?

They all volunteer for their local fire departments.

When you read their stories and realize that age is not a barrier to performing many needed tasks and that not everyone in a fire department runs into burning buildings wearing heavy equipment, I hope you will consider becoming a volunteer yourself.

Most fire departments in Onondaga County are staffed with volunteers 55 and older, according to Joe Rinefierd, director of the fire bureau for Onondaga County Emergency Management.

“There is such a shortage of volunteers that everyone is needed. And not everyone needs to be a firefighter,” he said. “Many departments are corporations with boards of directors that need people familiar with business and Robert’s Rules of Order to run the organizations.”

Let’s start with the Maroneys.

Thomas J. Maroney’s day job is professor of law at Syracuse University College of Law. For the past two years, he has been a volunteer fire police officer in the Fayetteville Fire Department. Dr. Mary Kay Maroney, director and professor emerita of the department of nursing at Utica College, is an emergency medical technician with the fire department.

“Though I had been a nurse and nurse educator for many years and enjoyed the patient care aspect of nursing, I soon learned that being an EMT is very different from professional nursing care,” said Maroney.

“EMT work is pre-hospital care, basically assessing, stabilizing, treating and transporting,” he said. “As an example, in a dog bite situation, when we reach the scene we are concerned about everyone’s safety, not just the person who has been bitten. We need to ask ‘where is the dog?’, stabilize the patient and transport to the hospital if necessary.”

Having been U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York for five years, and a volunteer with the U.S. Coast Guard auxiliary for 15 years, Maroney knows how law enforcement works.

“The fire police are an adjunct to law enforcement, with very limited law enforcement authority of our own,” he said. “The primary mission is traffic and crowd control. Everything is safety first—for yourself and for the scene. We set up traffic cones to protect the area where the firefighters and EMS are working, and that could be anywhere from a busy road, to a mall, to a residential neighborhood. You get there, assess the situation and block off the area if necessary.”

In tune with volunteering—The fire police captain for the Fayetteville Fire Department is William “Bill” Harris. A charter member of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, Harris retired as principal trombonist after 48 years.

He is professor emeritus of music at Onondaga Community College and artist affiliate in Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music. His most recent honor is induction into Nottingham High School’s Wall of Fame.

How does a classical musician become a volunteer firefighter?

“In 1992, the SSO had a money crisis and shut down from March to November,” explains Harris. “A great friend of mine from Syracuse University Marching Band days in the ‘60s, Tom Cook, was the fire police captain in Fayetteville where I’ve lived since 1966. So I knew all the guys socially but never had the time to be involved except to be friends.”

“I was always a fire buff and when the symphony shut down, Tom asked me to be in the fire police. I started taking fire course after fire course and absolutely loved it,” Harris said.

“It’s been a great 20 years. In the fire department, instead of an ‘I-me’ mentality, it’s ‘we-us’; it’s neighbors helping neighbors like our founding fathers intended. If you’re in the ‘we-us’ mode to make America better, this is the place to be. Compared to what I did all my life, I especially like the uniqueness of this whole thing,” Harris noted.

Vital to help others—Paul Whorrall, 58, retired from the U.S. Postal Service, is the volunteer fire chief and administrator of emergency services for the village of Manlius.

What is the main reason why people volunteer?

“It’s the sense of being able to help the community in an activity that is exciting,” said Whorrall. “Not only are you helping your own community, but it is personally fulfilling. True, there is a little of the adrenaline rush, but the main thing is what you can do to help people.”

“We have different levels of activity and allow people to do what they feel they’re capable of doing, from interior firefighting to scene support to fire police. There are people who do emergency medical services, drivers, EMTs and paramedics. We train people for everything. Most classes are held locally at night and on weekends.”

“For instance, to drive trucks and ambulances, all you need is a valid driver’s license, and over a couple of days, we will put you through an emergency vehicle operators course,” Whorrall said. “If you want to be an EMT, we provide the training and if you want to go on to become a paramedic, we’ll pay for that too.”

A volunteer firefighter since 1960, Mike Waters is a member of the Jordan Fire Department. He retired from the U.S. Air Force as public affairs officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel and was the fire coordinator for Onondaga County for over 29 years.

“I had wanted to be a fireman since I was a little kid and that feeling never left,” said Waters. “You build life-long friendships in the fire services, and sure, there’s a certain amount of excitement to it and, if you want, there are mental and physical challenges involved.”

‘Man against nature’—What’s it like to be a firefighter?

“It’s man against nature, it’s teamwork, it’s like a symphony where all the different parts have to be working together for it to be successful,” Waters said. “s a retired military officer, it’s a lot like a military operation. A bond is built with people who have faced the same adverse emergency conditions. You have to rely on them and they on you.”

The Onondaga Nation volunteer fire chief is Ronald Shenandoah, age 62. Shenandoah was a structural iron worker for many years, then an over-the-road truck driver for Jaquith Industries for over 13 years, He now works for the Nation.

“The Onondaga Nation Fire Department has been in existence in its new incarnation for 11 years,” Shenandoah said. “Prior to that, we had our own patrol and when the Nedrow Fire Department got a call that was on the Nation and would respond, I met them and showed them where to go.”

“Then Nedrow Fire Chief Harold Smith asked if volunteers on the Nation would like CPR and First Aid training so we could take care of patients until the Nedrow FD arrived,” said Shenandoah.

“Next, he asked us to join the fire department in Nedrow, so we started working with them,” Shenandoah said. “In 1998, we had a house fire on the reservation where a person died and all the people involved except two were from the Nation. A couple of the chiefs suggested we have our own fire department and that’s how it started.”

Many roles to fill—“Not everyone has to be an interior firefighter and there’s a place for everyone. In our department, the ages run from about 25 to 62 and we have two women firefighters. My youngest brother is an EMT and an interior firefighter, and for me, it is a privilege to have the opportunity to serve with him,” he added.

“From a chief’s point of view, the concern for your members starts whenever the sirens ring; not necessarily for a fire, it could be a sick person. It lasts even after you’ve parked the rig and it occupies your mind all night. You’re either worried that your members might get hurt or you’re feeling good that you know they are home safely,” Shenandoah said.

Bob Milton, 83, of the Jordan Fire Department, is still active after 61 years, 18 as chief and now as a life member. Leaving the Navy after World War II, he retired as a tool and die maker from Welch-Allyn. “I really enjoy helping people in need and working on and operating apparatus,” Milton said.

“Chief Milton” seems to be a family title, as Bob’s son Doug is the present Jordan chief and 13 other family members are also involved.

No gender barrier here—Rosemary Donnelly, 72, is from neighboring Meridian in Cayuga County.

By profession, Donnelly is a medical assistant X-ray technician, and as a volunteer, she is a first responder in the Meridian Fire Department for any emergencies requiring the rescue truck.

“I got involved with the Meridian Fire Department when we moved here from New Jersey 35 years ago. This is a rural community, and as many of the men farmed and were not available during the day, women became involved,” she said.

Because her mother was active in the fire auxiliary, Donnelly is still involved in her fire department auxiliary.

Like the Miltons, Donnelly also has family involved.

Another female firefighter hails from Oswego County. Joni Hinds, 55, was the first woman chief of the Cleveland Fire Department.

“My husband has been a firefighter since he was in high school, and our two sons joined when they each turned 16,” she said. “When the youngest joined  I was left home alone. My son suggested I join too. I was 43 at the time.”

Hinds progressed through the ranks.  She started as treasurer, became engineer of a vehicle, then president and chief engineer overseeing all engineers. She spent several years as a lieutenant, then worked her way up the chief ranks. During this time, she was also in school working on an ALS degree through the Corning/NYS Fire Academy.

“My father taught my brother about machinery but because I was a girl, he didn’t think to teach me, so I loved the opportunity the fire department gave me to do things with vehicles. As a firefighter, you are genderless; it is just respect for the job you do,” she said.

Madison County firefighter James Clark, 55, joined the Lincoln Fire and Rescue Department when he was 51. “I’ve lived in my community for 30 years and when the department was looking for volunteers, I saw this as my chance to give back,” he said. “It keeps me young, keeps me in shape and I’m doing something worthwhile.”

CatFISH members have provided 673 rides to 81 people

By Mary Beth Roach

If you’re fishing for some volunteer opportunities, perhaps you can get hooked on CatFISH — a service based in Camillus that provides free transportation to medical and dental appointments for ambulatory seniors living in the town of Camillus.

An acronym for Camillus Area Transport Friends In Service Here, CatFISH is a dedicated group of about 35 drivers that transport people on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, with 11 dispatchers fielding calls Mondays through Thursdays.

The need for volunteers, according to Nadine Macomber, a senior advocate with the program, is due to several factors, such as summer vacations or wintering down South, for example; and a greater demand for their services.

“We’re a victim of our own success,” she said, “but we’re proud of it.”

Planning for the program began in mid-2005, and they began transporting people in September 2006, according to C. John Henderson, CatFISH board president. He and his wife, Doris, have been involved with the program since its inception.

It started as a collaborative effort between the Town of Camillus and P.E.A.C.E., Inc. Town Supervisor Mary Ann Coogan and Tom Kehoskie, then-director of Camillus Parks and Recreation, brought together a number of agencies and community groups in the Camillus area to develop ideas for a volunteer driving program. Also involved were the county’s department of aging and youth, P.E.A.C.E. Inc.’s Project R.O.S.E., ECHO’s Meals on Wheels, the Camillus senior citizens group, and local churches. They also tapped those involved in similar FISH programs in such communities as Tully, Manlius and Fayetteville, and their experience was invaluable, according to Henderson. The initiative was then turned over to Project R.O.S.E. (Reach Out to Serve the Elderly), which Macomber oversees.

Macomber said that since June 2007, when she became involved with the program, CatFISH has provided 673 rides to 81 people. They use their own vehicles, and while mileage reimbursement is offered, no one recently has taken advantage of it.

“No one has asked — even with these high gas prices — for a penny in return,” she said.

When gas was running about $4 per gallon, not one person stopped driving because of the gas prices, Henderson said.

“No one complained. I think that’s quite a tribute to our overall program,” he said.
While drivers are not allowed to accept money from users, they can provide stamped envelopes with which people can make donations to CatFISH if they wish.

While the program can accommodate seniors who might have special needs, such as a walker or an oxygen tank, Macomber explained, the people need to be ambulatory since the drivers cannot lift them.

Not only do the drivers merely transport, they will stay with them during the visits to make sure they are on hand to bring them home.

Henderson tells of a person he took to a chemotherapy appointment. Knowing that it was going to be long wait, he took a book with him. He said he never opened that book. He went in with the person and learned a great deal about the procedure the patient was undergoing.

“It was an educational afternoon for me,” he said.

While drivers are only required to bring people to and from doctors’ visits, they sometimes will assist in other errands.

Macomber tells the story of volunteer Martha Williams, who worked with a person who had expressed a desire to visit the library from time to time. A retired schoolteacher, Williams couldn’t deny this wish, so she decided to accompany this person to the library occasionally.

Macomber and Henderson both commented on how appreciative users are for the service and the attention.
“It gets to you when you read some of the notes they get,” Henderson said. “They’re so appreciative.”
Those lured in to be a CatFISH volunteer or those interested in learning more about the service can call 701-5949.

New York State AARP’s most prestigious award for community service, the Andrus Award, this year went to Alejandro Garcia.

The 2008 Andrus Award for Community Service recognizes 53 unique individuals — one from each state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands — who have demonstrated the power to make it better in their communities in ways that are consistent with AARP’s mission, vision and commitment to volunteer service, and that inspire others to volunteer. The award is named after AARP founder Ethel Percy Andrus.

That Garcia is from Syracuse University continues to illustrate how lucky we in Central New York are to have wonderful colleges and universities in our area that attract national figures.

A former administrator and current professor at SU School of Social Work, College of Human Ecology, Garcia’s areas of expertise are the elderly, particularly Hispanic elderly, and adequacy of income in old age, policy analysis and social welfare, and human diversity.

Having just completed his term as chair of the AARP National Policy Council, he will remain on that body for another two years with broader northeast regional responsibility. Additionally, he is assuming the important role of chairing the National Policy Council’s nominating committee.

I have known Garcia for a number of years and always found him to be a fascinating, complex person. In addition to being an expert in multicultural issues in aging, he is an excellent photographer, a lover of the arts and a humanitarian.

We recently discussed what in his background brought him to focus his academic career on social issues.
Here’s what Garcia had to say:

“I was raised in a very poor family in South Texas. In the schools in Texas at the time, Mexican children were taught that they were inferior and so I convinced myself that was the case with me as well. It was only slowly that I realized I could compete with others on an academic basis.

That was also when I started to appreciate my ethnic background, my culture and learned to celebrate who I was.

There have been role models all along the way who helped me become who I am. For instance, when I was about 15 or 16, the Latino vice-principal at my high school invited me to attend a Rotary Club luncheon where I had to wear a coat and tie. I remember that vividly as I didn’t have a coat and tie but my Dad helped me find them and even taught me how to tie a tie.

“When we lived in a poor neighborhood, my mother was conned into buying a musical instrument for me. We lived in Brownsville, Texas, which was in the poorest county in the United States. To be able to play the instrument, I had to change schools.

“I went from a 100 percent Latino school to a school across town that had non-Hispanic white students from a higher socio-economic status and with higher career aspirations. This started me thinking about what I could become and in turn, gave me access to attend the University of Texas on a band scholarship.

“At UT I studied languages: Spanish, English and Italian. Then I enlisted in the Army. Toward the end of my service I was in a serious car accident and was bedridden for a long time. That forced me to think what I wanted to do with the rest of my life and when I started to think about social issues, in particular, social justice in relation to Hispanics. This thinking led me to obtain a master’s degree in social work at California State University in Sacramento.

“After being in clinical practice for a couple of years and joining the staff of the National Association of Social Workers in New York City, I decided to pursue doctoral studies. One of my major influences and role models was Dr. Juan Ramos, a Brandeis University alumnus and a high official in the National Institute of Mental Health. He encouraged me to think about applying to the doctoral program at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis.”

How have your ideas changed over the years?

“I went from not liking myself very much to learning to appreciate myself and seeing myself as part of the larger Latino community. My extensive collection of Mexican masks and other folk art is related to my background. When I started amassing my collection of this art, I was often asked why such a disparate collection? My answer was that each piece of art that I collected contributed to my self discovery and celebration.”

How has our country responded to the growth of Latinos in our communities?

“It varies. From acceptance in many areas, to fear and hatred in others. Some people are threatened by too many Latinos and concerned about how their way of life will affect America. But the fact is that Latino cultures have influenced the United States. For example, salsa is now preferred over catsup; Mexican food has become part of regular menus; and we celebrate Cinco De Mayo without knowing what it really is. We see Latino influences in our architecture, and in the names of our communities, such as Mexico right here in Central New York. The names of cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles are such an integral part of our vocabulary that we don’t consider them as foreign names.”

Do you think we are taking the best advantage of our country’s diverse populations?

“No, I think the majority society could learn a lot from Latinos. For instance, the fact that they have a long life expectancy in spite of their poverty. One reason for their long life is an extremely strong family support system.”

Let’s talk about your love of photography.

“I bought a camera when I was in the military and started taking pictures in the Arctic when stationed in Greenland and it’s evolved ever since. I like to capture people involved in activities and I feel good that this is a gift I can share with others. I have been especially drawn to Mexican folk art and ceremonial dances when I visit Mexico. In my family, when someone dies, relatives already know that they can come to me for family photograph archives.”

I know you have had a unique volunteer experience using your photography.

“Over the years I have been invited by a former colleague, Dr. Susan Taylor-Brown, to participate as a volunteer in a camp for families who had at least one individual diagnosed as being HIV positive or having AIDS. Over the years my job was to take photos of the families, many of whom were Latino or African American, and for many, these were the only family photographs that they had. The families loved having the photographs as well as getting the family together and posing for them. Over the years, the family changed, some members died and sometimes unrelated persons became part of the family. It was interesting to see these dynamics at play and how people sought love and support from other people and how much we were willing to give in spite of our own trials and tribulations.”