North Qby. Volunteer Fire Company, at year 75

By Hannah Hughes, Chronicle Summer Staff

“When your pager goes off, it’s part of the thrill of it.…You simply never know what’s coming next,” said Todd Mahony, President of the North Queensbury Volunteer Fire Company and member of the Rescue Squad’s Board of Directors.

Mr. Mahony has been a member of the Company for 20 years and joined after he retired from his business career.

“I regret that I didn’t join this earlier in life,” he said. “What it’s done for me has been phenomenal. It’s made me more confident in my life, it’s made me more capable…I can’t speak highly enough for it.”

The Fire Company is celebrating its 75th year. “It’s really incredible,” said Mr. Mahony. “People who aren’t part of being a volunteer fire company don’t understand what it’s like to be a part of an all-volunteer organization that does such a tremendous job of helping everybody all the time.”

Mr. Mahony says he has lots of personal moments, but one sticks out to him. “In ‘05 I got the page to go to the Ethan Allen. And that was a changing point in my life.”

The boat capsized and sank, killing 20 mostly elderly passengers from Michigan.

Queensbury has five independent volunteer fire companies.

They all started at about the same time, 70 years ago Mr. Mahony said they may have different “names” and “attitudes,” but all the departments have “absolutely terrific people.”

“We just all make it happen and we all help each other in any way we can,” Mr. Mahony said. “Mutual aid is always offered and always accepted by all the departments.”

He said the companies do more than just put out fires. “It’s sad that people don’t fully appreciate or understand what’s available to them with their local volunteer fire companies.

“The members that are in there will get up any time of the day or night and come out to do anything they can to help somebody… It isn’t just fire, we do everything… You got any kind of problem that you can’t handle, the men and women of the organization are there to do it.”

Right now, the North Queensbury Volunteer Fire Company — based in Clevedale — has 48 (almost 49) members.

Mr. Mahony says they’re lucky to have such a large number, in a time where it’s difficult to find volunteers. “We have been extremely fortunate at drawing people at all levels,” he said. “We’ve got young people, old people, men, women…It just all works together no matter where you come from, that’s what makes it so special.”

He says the key is balancing strengths both of people who work in the field and people who work administratively and keep the Company running smoothly.

“We’re constantly searching for people to make the calls and do the hard stuff, but what we’ve also done is reach out to people who just want to do administrative stuff,” Mr. Mahony said, “We need a balance of two different kinds of people.”

Getting volunteers can be challenging, but training is another difficulty.

Beyond safety, legality makes training important. “Life is getting more complicated, lawsuits are getting to be more common issues…these are volunteers…that can get in trouble if they don’t do it right,” Mr. Mahony said.

Training is also time-consuming and complicated, depending on which of the many routes you want to pursue. While an interior firefighter needs around 250 hours of training, additional training is required for special squads like the dive team and hill rescue.

“You can go on training forever…but you have to recertify each year,” said Mr. Mahony. “So imagine, you’ve got volunteers that are doing this and still maintaining a job. It’s just an incredible dedication.”

North Queensbury has six or seven seasonal members, who need extra training each time they return.

With all that’s involved, Mr. Mahony still urges people to come out and see what firefighting is about, saying “it’s not a chore, it’s an opportunity.”

He says young people can learn a lot being involved in an organization like this. “This teaches you teamwork in a way that saves people’s lives, including your own,” he said, “I don’t think people understand how exactly it helps you in life, and what it can do to make your life better to be a part of something like this, that’s how strongly I feel about it, always have.”

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