RIDGE ROAD ROAD FIRE DISTRICT

MEETING OF BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Ridge Road Fire District in the Town of Greece, County of Monroe, State of New York, will hold a regular/special meeting of the Board of Fire Commissioners on Monday, May 18, 2020 commencing at 6:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Fire District office located at 1299 Long Pond Road, Rochester, New York 14626, but in a remote format.

All meetings of the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Ridge Road Fire District are open to the public, however, in accordance with Executive Order 202.1 of 2020 issued by Governor Andrew Cuomo in response the Coronavirus COVID 19 crisis, the public will not be permitted to enter the Fire District office and Fire District building and instead the meeting will be opened to the public by means of remote audio access by placing a telephone call to 646-558-8656 and using access code  553 285 904 .

This access code will permit the public to listen, but not to comment, as this procedure complies with the Open Meeting Law as temporarily suspended and amended by the Executive Order. If any member of the public after listening to the audio broadcast of the meeting wishes to submit a comment, he or she may do so by sending the comment in the form of an email to the Fire District Secretary at the following email address: kbowers@rrfd.org. Any such comments will be considered as correspondence at the next meeting of the Board of Fire Commissioners.

This notice is being publicized and posted in accordance with the provisions of Section 104 of the Public Officers Law of the State of New York.

By order of the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Ridge Road Fire District.

Dated: Rochester, New York

            May 13, 2020

Kenneth D Bowers

Secretary

Ridge Road Fire District

Due to the severity of COVID-19 (coronavirus), the Ridge Road Fire District has adopted the recommendations of the Monroe County Health Department and the County EMS Medical Director and have tailored our responses to medical emergencies accordingly.  We are continuing to respond to serious and life-threatening medical emergencies.

If COVID-19 were to make its way into our fire stations, it could impact our personnel thereby hampering our ability to sustain our mission to the community that we serve.

Therefore, we have decided to temporarily close all District fire stations to the public until further notice.  Activities typically hosted within our facilities such as CPR education, tours, Child Safety Seat checks, and Blood Pressure screenings are temporarily discontinued.

Service to the public is our main mission.  We are here to serve the community and we must make these changes to ensure that we are able to continue to provide the highest level of service consistent with our mission in light of the existing pandemic.  Our ability to provide fire protection, Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and rescue services hinges on the health of our personnel so they can respond.

If you call 911 for a medical problem, we ask that you inform the dispatcher if you are having symptoms and/or a fever.  When we respond we will be wearing face masks, safety glasses, as well as gloves and, will ask screening questions from a six-foot distance.  These measures are for our safety and to ensure that we will be available to respond to the next emergency.

You can help by maintaining social distancing by 6’ or more between people, self-monitor for cold or flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath, and frequently washing your hands.  If you have any of these symptoms contact your medical provider.

Thank you for your understanding and stay safe

Steve Mills

Fire Chief

As we enter into the Holiday season, please take a minute to make sure you are celebrating safely.

Thanksgiving fire facts

• Thanksgiving is the peak day for home cooking fires, followed by Christmas Day, Christmas Eve, and the day before Thanksgiving.
• In 2017, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated 1,600 home cooking fires on Thanksgiving, the peak day for such fires.
• Unattended cooking was by far the leading contributing factor in cooking fires and fire deaths.
• Cooking equipment was involved in almost half of all reported home fires and home fire injuries, and it is the second leading cause of home fire deaths.

Top 10 safety tips

• Stay in the kitchen when you are cooking on the stove top so you can keep an eye on the food.
• Stay in the home when cooking your turkey, and check on it frequently.
• Keep children away from the stove. The stove will be hot and kids should stay three feet away.
• Make sure kids stay away from hot food and liquids. The steam or splash from vegetables, gravy or coffee could cause serious burns.
• Keep knives out of the reach of children.
• Be sure electric cords from an electric knife, coffee maker, plate warmer or mixer are not dangling off the counter within easy reach of a child.
• Keep matches and utility lighters out of the reach of children — up high in a locked cabinet.
• Never leave children alone in room with a lit candle.
• Keep the floor clear so you don’t trip over kids, toys, pocketbooks or bags.
• Make sure your smoke alarms are working. Test them by pushing the test button.

The National Fire Protection Association strongly discourages the use of turkey fryers.

Source: National Fire Protection Association

Please join us for our annual Open House as we kick off Fire Prevention Week.

Experience all the Fire House has to offer! Live demonstrations, MCSO Mounted Patrol, Wegmans, Greece Police child ID and K-9 Ryan, NYSP rollover simulator, house fire spray prop, Climb aboard Fire trucks and a Monroe Ambulance, food, activities and much
more!  We hope to see you this coming Sunday, October 6th from 9:00-Noon at our Headquarters Station. All are welcome!

1299 Long Pond Road
Rochester, NY 14626

This afternoon, one of our vehicles was struck while operating at an emergency scene. No firefighters were injured but the driver of the other vehicle was injured.

Between January 1st and August 2nd of this year, 27 first responders have been killed while operating at incidents on roadways in the United States.  Please stay alert, slow down and and move over to give us room to work.  In New York State, violation of the Move Over Law carries a 3-point penalty and a $275 fine.

Memorial Day Weekend is often the time that families open their pools. Please follow these safety tips to keep your friends, family, and neighbors safe this summer.

Believe it or not, spring is here and with it comes an opportunity to make things safer for you and your family. Here are a few fire prevention and safety tips to coincide with the arrival of Spring.

• Never mix chemicals. Results can be toxic and can cause illness or death.
• When vacuuming, clean out your smoke alarms. Dust can prevent the from operating properly and can also cause nuisance alarms.
• Remove dead vegetation and debris from around the outside of your house.
• Ensure barbecue grills are clean and are used according to manufacturers’ directions.
  • Accumulation of grease can cause flare-ups and fires.
  • Grills should be used away from the house and should never be used inside a garage, porch, or other structure.
  • Check propane hoses for cracks and other damage.
  • Never store propane or lighter fluid indoors
• When fueling lawnmowers or other power equipment, allow the engine to cool and fuel the equipment well away from the house.
• Never store gasoline indoors.
• If you have unused chemicals in your home, dispose of them properly. Click here for information on Monroe County EcoPark.
• Ensure pools and pool areas are restricted from children and locked.
• Store pool chemicals out of reach of children.

There are always ways we can make things safer for ourselves, our families, and our neighbors.  Enjoy the weather as it warms up!