Neighbors Helping Neighbors to Protect Life and Property
Chief Brad Fiore, Cottekill Volunteer Fire Company (www.CottekillFire.org)
You may have seen the movies Backdraft or Ladder 49. Maybe you’ve caught an episode of Chicago Fire. Certainly some of you remember the 1970s television series Emergency.
Most images on television, in movies and in books are those of career or paid firefighters. They work, eat and sleep at the fire station. The bell rings, and off they go to the emergency. Is that the image you have?
Unfortunately, that’s not the case throughout most of the country. Nearly 72 percent of the 30,000 fire departments in the U.S. are volunteer departments. Here’s how your Fire Emergency Services works. There are three parts to the fire protection equation. Think of it as a triangle with information and resources flowing in both directions.
The Fire District • The Fire Company • The Community
Let’s take a look at the responsibilities of each one.
Cottekill Volunteer Fire Company is fully committed to providing accessible facilities, elements and
channels of communication to all members of the public. As part of this commitment, Cottekill Volunteer Fire Company
has a policy of providing an accessible website compatible with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1) and
commercial screen reading software. All features of the website are coded to allow individuals with vision and
other impairments to understand and use the website to the same degree as someone without disabilities. We welcome
feedback and can often resolve issues in a timely manner if they arise.
If you need any special assistance or accommodations:
Cottekill Volunteer Fire Company has designated a compliance officer for website disability-related accommodations.
The compliance officer has received training in website accessibility and updates the site in accordance with those best
practices. Contact our accessibility officer to report an issue.
Compliance Procedures and Reports
In addition to testing with users with a wide range of disabilities and coding our website to WCAG standards,
Cottekill Volunteer Fire Company regularly scans its website to ensure ongoing compliance, and makes timely
changes to any inaccessible changes, if any are found.
Linked Documents and Third Parties
Please note that this site may link out to third-party websites, such as state or federal agencies, that do
not have accessible content. This site may also include documents provided by third parties included in our
agenda packets, for example. While we cannot control the accessibility of content provided by third parties,
we are happy to assist any member of the public with reading and accessing content on our site.