Anyone who wants to be a firefighter in Rockland County is welcome to do so, as long as they go through the proper protocols. The call from County Executive Ed Day comes as fire crews compete with another fire company that may lack the proper training to save lives.There is even a picture of a fire truck it has purchased on its slick Instagram presence. But county officials call the outfit a rogue fire company that's actually putting lives at risk.
'I admire anyone who wants to volunteer, I admire anyone who is certainly a former cop, who wants to be part of the community's public safety, this is not the way to do it,' Rockland County Executive Ed Day said.On Tuesday, the listed address of its headquarters was empty but there were plenty of fire extinguishers outside the location. The group says its members are trained in Bergen County, New Jersey, and in a statement says, the 'existing fire companies are not set up to accommodate Orthodox Jewish volunteers according to Torah guidelines.'RCMA volunteers failed to detect a carbon monoxide leak and dangerous levels that were later found by the Monsey Fire Department. And they say the most troubling issue is RCMA encouraging residents to call them first in an emergency rather than dialing 911. 'It's absolutely dangerous, calling 911 brings a load of resources to a scene, it may not be one thing, it could be 10 things, it could be a variety of different agencies that are going to respond,' Day said. RCMA says over 5,000 people have signed a petition asking for official recognition as a fire company.'All we want these folks to do is to get trained, become part of an official department so they can bring the best of what they got to the scene,' Day said. Enforcement remains an option. In December, an RCMA volunteer was charged with obstructing firefighter operations. The county executive warns additional arrests are possible and urges residents to call 911 in an emergency