Long Island Housemen.

[moggie6 54]

Could someone please let me know what counties and departments in Long Island and throughout the state have Housemen. I also am wondering what the civil service discription is for the job.

[gamewell45 258]

Why don't you try contacting the Nassau/Suffolk County Volunteer Firemen's Association? They might be able to give you accurate information you need.

[HCFRFF 0]

what exactly is a houseman ?

[firefighter36 52]

what exactly is a houseman ?

http://xml.baltimoresun.com/news/specials/...96.story?page=3

[jcoppola 52]

A houseman is a person who works at a volunteer fire department and does things like minor maintenance, housekeeping, opening the building for deliveries etc. and when the bell does hit, they usually are members and can respond, as a paid driver would. I think by defining them as housemen, they are technically not paid firefighters and there is no risk of IAFF organization. Many years ago, Belltown FD had a paid houseman, which eventually turned into a paid driver position. I believe the Long Hill and Trumbull Center departments in Trumbull, Conn. have a houseman each funded by the fire tax districts for the respective departments. I also think that the pay rates are not on par with what a paid firefighter gets, and the hours are usually weekdays 9-5.

[ace84 100]

Mechanicstown FD & Middlehope FD in orange county have housemen.

[firemoose827 324]

I am from Long Island and belonged to the Northport Fire Dept. They had a houseman but he was an employee of the Village Highway Dept and was hired as a Janitor with cross training in dispatch operations. He stayed in house for his whole shift, cleaning the station, maintaining tools and equipment, filling bottles, and when the emergency line rang he answered the call, took the info, and dispatched the call from the locked radio room. He did not respond to calls, he dispatched the dept to calls and than resumed his janitor work when the call ended. All of our housemen were also volunteer members of the dept, but while on duty as houseman they were paid by the village highway dept and were employees of that dept, not the fire dept. This was the same for most of the surrounding departments in Suffolk County, not sure about the entire Island. This was also 16 years ago before I moved to Upstate NY, not sure if its the same now.

Hope this helps explain some more about what a "Houseman" is.

[Taz288 8]

In Suffolk County a houseman is generally hired off the Suffolk County Civil Service test for Firehouse Attendant. Depending on the fire district they can either be the dispatchers the individual depts use to handle their calls or they can be the maintenance workers that do everything on the district grounds. I am a former one and at the district I worked for I did both. They give the test every 4 years.

[Guest TCA-ALS25]

A houseman is a person who works at a volunteer fire department and does things like minor maintenance, housekeeping, opening the building for deliveries etc. and when the bell does hit, they usually are members and can respond, as a paid driver would. I think by defining them as housemen, they are technically not paid firefighters and there is no risk of IAFF organization. Many years ago, Belltown FD had a paid houseman, which eventually turned into a paid driver position. I believe the Long Hill and Trumbull Center departments in Trumbull, Conn. have a houseman each funded by the fire tax districts for the respective departments. I also think that the pay rates are not on par with what a paid firefighter gets, and the hours are usually weekdays 9-5.

The township adjacent to my part of Philadelphia - Lower Merion - has 7 fire companies and usually 2 "housemen" per station to avoid having the IAFF get any footing in the town.

[AFS1970 504]

I have a friend who used to work as a houseman in Long Island. He did janitorial work but when a call came in he had to clock out to respond. He explained that this was just like any other employer who allowed employees to respond but did not have to pay him while he was volunteering. I think that if he needed to make up time he could clock back in and stay later to finish work.

[firefighter36 52]

The township adjacent to my part of Philadelphia - Lower Merion - has 7 fire companies and usually 2 "housemen" per station to avoid having the IAFF get any footing in the town.

There are plenty of career and combination fire departments across the country whose employees are either not represented by a union, or have a union whose membership is optional, that does not engage in collective bargaining for its employees because that state does not have collective bargaining rights. (Right to work states.)

I was a business major in college, and the most appropriate thing that comes to mind is from my labor relations class. Some of my fellow students were corporate types who were taught early in their careers that unions cut the profit margin, and thus were bad for business. The professor engaged him in a debate, and made the point that if employers live up to their obligations, i.e. fair compensation and benefits, as well as fair treatment of employees, then there is really no need to employees to unionize. Of course, this class related to private sector business, but I think those words hold true in the public sector to some degree.

If these housemen, janitors, mechanics, secretaries, clerks, or whatever these departments hire are represented here and there by the IAFF on Long Island, or are DPW Employees, (what DPW employees aren't union?) then why are these departments, towns, cities, villages, and districts worried about IAFF organization?

Its not unionization, although that is the easy excuse. I would find it laughable for a village mayor or fire commissioner to say to the public, "Our department has no problem getting a fully staffed rig to your emergencies, however we find ourselves at a complete loss when we need to mop a floor or file paperwork, so we had to hire a janitor." However, that is the message we are sending when we let departments get away with this kind of behavior. I would venture to say that they are afraid for some reason or another to admit their fire department can't meet standards, or is having trouble responding to calls, or simply that they don't want to upset "tradition" as we have seen in so many posts. In other words, see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Why is it so hard for departments to admit a need for better staffing in order to provide adequate services?

Edited July 20, 2009 by mbendel36