On June 27, 2023, Performance Advantage Company (PAC) hosted the first New York State Home Day at its headquarters in Lancaster, New York. Home Days are ways for FAMA/FEMSA member companies to establish strong relationships with their Congressional Representatives. Greg Young, vice president, sales and operations at PAC stresses that ultimately, events like these are about communities. “This is really for the community, just like emergency services,” he says. “It’s for the community. We’re a manufacturer and we’re proud of what we do and we know what we make is for first responders, but ultimately it’s for the community. And bringing people together in a way that we can all express our needs as a community–that’s what I wanted to get out of this. It is this is for your neighbors, this is for my neighbors, this is for your families. This is for their safety.”
The inaugural New York State Home Day was hosted by PAC, which also invited its partners to participate, including Ward Apparatus, AMDOR, and SoundOff Signal. Attendees could see products from these companies in use on fire apparatus staged outside the presentation area. Rigs came from the Bowmansville Volunteer Fire Association, the Lancaster (NY) Fire Department, the Vigilant Fire Company (Ebenezer, New York), and a demo UTV from Ward Apparatus.
A variety of speakers were on hand to address the first responders and manufacturers in the room. Thomas J. Trzepacz, Vice President of Sales & Customer RelationsPerformance Advantage Company, emceed the event. Scott Beecher, Ward Apparatus; Bruce Whitehouse, AMDOR; and Gabe Casucci, SoundOff Signal provided brief introductions of the their companies and each stressed the importance of fire departments, fire service manufacturers, and elected representatives working together to provide first responders with the resources they need to carry out their missions safely and efficiently. Congressman Nick Langworthy pledged his support and his commitment to ensure the voices of first responders are heard at the federal level, saying, “Our First Responders deserve the best.”
Fire Apparatus & Emergency Equipment Editor in Chief Chris Mc Loone discussed current challenges faced by fire departments nationwide like recruitment and retention, long lead times for fire apparatus orders, and replacing aging apparatus and PPE and advocated to keep the Assistance to Firefighters and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs fully funded. “We must have the right number of people on scene to complete the tasks of forcible entry, search and rescue, ventilation, and extinguishment,” he said. “We need them to respond in the safest fire apparatus, wearing the most up to date PPE, and using current SCBA. Recruitment and retention in today’s volunteer fire service continue to be some of the greatest challenges as the dynamics of our communities continue to change. In many places, volunteer firefighters might not be allowed to leave work to answer the call, and in many cases these volunteer firefighters simply don’t work in their communities during the day. And in some communities, the desire to serve is not as strong as it once was.”
He concluded, “Keeping the AFG and SAFER grand programs funded will allow fire departments across the country to get the funding they need to keep going, to provide training to their members, to ensure they are responding in the safest vehicles possible, ultimately ensuring their safety on the fire ground. To the firefighters and solutions providers in attendance today, do not forget to work together and deliver a unified message to your local, state, and federal representatives. Working together ensures that the fire service and the fire service industry will continue to thrive.”
The event wrapped up with a networking lunch for attendees, elected representatives, and manufacturer representatives. Also making an appearance was Dick Young, PAC’s founder and a mainstay in the fire service industry.
For more information on PAC an its partners for this event visit:
