The East Hampton Fire Department has had “astronomical” success in recruitment in 2025, the Fire and Emergency Medical Services administrator told the East Hampton Village Board last week, with 19 new recruits representing a near-quadrupling of what is seen in a typical year.
Remarks by that administrator, Gerry Turza, and the fire chief, Duane Forrester, at the Dec. 17 meeting of the board also included word that the Fire Department’s latest inspection by its insurance services organization, or I.S.O., resulted in an upgrade to its rating, which Mr. Turza said positively impacts insurance rates. A further upgrade came in the form of a surprise donation announced during the meeting.
Of five members who might join the department in a typical year, he said, “maybe only three, possibly four, might make it through their probationary period, because there’s a tremendous amount of demand on you the first few years of service.” From January to Dec. 17, “we’ve taken in 19 new members of this Fire Department,” he said. “That is astronomical.”
Mr. Turza is chairman of the Suffolk County Fire, Rescue, and Emergency Services Commission, and East Hampton’s 2025 recruitment success is “unheard of in Suffolk County,” he said. “I’m dealing with recruitment and retention countywide on a daily basis. Nineteen members — the chief and his people are doing something right.” Just 20 minutes earlier, he had received another inquiry, he said.
The I.S.O. inspection was completed at summer’s end, Mr. Turza said. “They rate the efficiency of the Fire Department, the operations,” he said. “They look at our infrastructure. They look at our community risk reduction — what are we doing to identify hazards, meet those hazards, interact with the public? They look at our water infrastructure. They look at the Fire Department’s organization — policies, procedures, things like that. They look at our equipment, our apparatus. They also look at our communications center, and they tie this whole package together.”
Fire departments are given a rating from 10 to 1, with a lower number denoting a better rating and typically leading to lower homeowner and commercial insurance premiums because of reduced risk of fire loss.
In the spring of 2022, following a previous inspection, the department was given a rating of 3/3X, which Mr. Turza described as “very, very good.” The rating implies strong performance in the Fire Department’s operations as well as its water supply. It was due in large part, he said, to the 2020 addition of the Northwest substation. “It gave us a lot of operational capabilities.”
“I’m pleased to announce to the board,” he continued, “we’ve increased our rating to a 2/2X.” Only around 95 of 2,089 fire departments in New York State have this rating, Mr. Turza said. “There’s only eight departments that have a Class 1 rating,” which he said is particularly difficult for an all-volunteer force to achieve, “especially given our size and our geographic location.” But, he said, “we’re less than six points away from qualifying for that, and we will be pursuing it. We’re actually in the process of that now.”
The new rating takes effect on March 1, Mr. Turza told the board. “It’s going to have a significant impact on our area,” he said. “Our insurance companies . . . are going to use that to calculate premiums. It’s going to help our insurance companies offer up better products that suit the needs of our residents — hopefully, lower rates across the board. Our residents in Northwest and the protection district — this is going to be especially important for them.”
The rating is “a great feather in our cap when you think about everything that’s involved with fire protection,” he said. “Most people just think it’s the trucks and the people coming down, but it’s more than that. We are a team, and teamwork does certainly make the dream work.”
The Fire Department has taken “huge steps,” revising its bylaws to make joining easier. “It’s taken some of the guesswork out of the process. That’s helped us out tremendously. We’re able to get people in here that want to be here. . . . There’s a renewed sense of camaraderie, and a breath of fresh air.”
The department is developing partnerships with the public and business owners to solicit fund-raising to ease the burden on taxpayers while making capital expenditures, including for a filling station for important safety equipment known as S.C.B.A., or self-contained breathing apparatus. This, Mr. Turza said, costs “well over $100,000.”
At the conclusion of Mr. Turza’s remarks to the board, Brad Billet, the East Hampton Village Foundation’s chief executive officer, asked how much had been raised toward the filling station. Just under $60,000, was the answer. The foundation, he said, “will cap it off so you can get your filling station.”
“As they fight fires or drill,” Mr. Billet said after the meeting, “when they put an S.C.B.A. on, air goes through the S.C.B.A. so they’re breathing clean air instead of whatever is around the fire or hazard.” A filling station, he said, “allows them, instead of waiting for a contractor to come out and fill it, they’ll be able to themselves.” This “will allow them to train more, and there will be less budget impact because . . . if they’re doing it themselves, that impact is not felt.”
The foundation has also gifted the Fire Department equipment to better fight electric vehicle fires and protect firefighters from smoke and toxic fumes, Mr. Billet said.
The foundation is funded by donations, Mr. Billet said, and those interested can visit ehvf.org or send checks payable to the East Hampton Village Foundation, P.O. Box 4082, East Hampton 11937.
