New York State
Association of Fire Chiefs

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PERMA and NYSAFC 2024 MiniGrants Awarded

The program assists PERMA and NYSAFC fire department members in obtaining equipment that will help reduce injury and illness within their agencies. 10 departments were awarded grants this year to purchase gear washers and dryers.

In 2018, PERMA (Public Employer Risk Management Association), a member organization that provides workers' compensation coverage and customized workplace solutions, created a partnership with NYSAFC. The mutual goal of this collaboration was to develop new risk management initiatives that focused on benefiting New York's firefighting community. PERMA currently serves over 280 fire departments and districts across New York state and has a dedicated public safety risk management specialist to consult or offer a variety of services to members tailored to the fire industry.

The most notable program from the PERMA and NYSAFC partnership was the creation of the annual Firefighter Risk Reduction MiniGrant Program. Launched in 2019, this program is available to members of both PERMA and NYSAFC (Department Members), to provide financial assistance with the purchase of a new gear washer and dryer. This equipment is crucial in reducing the exposure to cancer causing carcinogens while helping maintain gear integrity. Since inception, this annual grant has provided more than $195,000 of equipment to PERMA and NYSAFC members across 42 departments.

Congratulations to our 2024 awardees: Barnard Fire District (Monroe County), Brighton Fire District (Monroe County), Buchanan Fire Department (Westchester County), Cincinnatus Fire District (Cortland County), Groton Fire Department (Tompkins County), Horseheads Fire Department (Chemung County), Piseco Volunteer Fire Department (Hamilton County), West Glens Falls Volunteer Fire Company (Town of Queensbury – Warren County), West Islip Fire District (Suffolk County), and Woodmere Fire District (Nassau County).

Each year, this program continues to receive more applications, which has initiated additional partnership conversations about other fire industry trends and risk management needs.

Additional services available for PERMA members include training in emergency vehicle operation, stress management, safe patient lifting instruction, General Municipal Law Section 207(a) referral services, and rehabilitation best practices, as well as the standard required PESH regulatory trainings (bloodborne pathogens, PPE, etc.). PERMA and NYSAFC continue to partner annually on cross-functional training with risk management programming and subject matter experts that are relevant to both memberships and look to provide innovative resources to New York's firefighting community.

Learn more about PERMA and PERMA membership here.

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