County, Ramapo and several Ramapo village officials continue to sound the alarm and are urging residents to call 911 in the event of an emergency, and not the so-called “Monsey Fire Brigade.” Rockland’s County Executive and the Director of Fire and Emergency Services have reached out to several state agencies including New York State’s Department of Labor Public Employee Safety and Health, the state Attorney General, the State’s Office of Fire Prevention and Control, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, and several Federal and State officials. Ramapo supervisor Michael Specht says he and his team are still looking for answers as to whether this group runs afoul of any laws, if they aren’t obstructing the fire department from doing their job…
In a statement, Rockland County Executive Ed Day said sending untrained personnel into a fire or emergency risks the lives of people and firefighters. In addition to the safety issues, Day and Chris Kear are both concerned that the “Monsey Fire Brigade” isn’t equipped to notify utility companies for hazards at emergency scenes, or notify fire and building inspectors for code violations observed, and would fail to notify state fire groups, resulting in reimbursement issues for homeowner insurance claims.