NY Expands Training Stipends
- New York expanded its volunteer-firefighter training stipend program to reimburse additional courses for trainees. - Governor Kathy Hochul's expansion adds reimbursements covering five more training courses under the stipend program. - The change is intended to lower training barriers and support recruitment by offsetting course costs for volunteers ( ).
New York is expanding its volunteer-firefighter training stipend program to cover five more courses, widening a state effort to help departments recruit and keep members. (governor.ny.gov) Governor Kathy Hochul announced the change on April 22, 2026. The newly stipend-eligible courses are Firefighter Survival: Self Rescue; Firefighter Assist and Search Team; Rapid Intervention Crew; Fire and Emergency Services Instructor 1; Fire Officer II; and Firefighter 2, with reimbursements of $250, $350, or $500 depending on the course. (governor.ny.gov) The program started in 2024 after New York set aside $10 million to offset required training costs for volunteer firefighters. State officials said more than 4,000 volunteers have completed training through the stipend program since 2023. (governor.ny.gov, governor.ny.gov) New York’s volunteer departments serve about 9 million residents, nearly half the state’s population. State officials said more than 75% of those departments have reported declining volunteer numbers, even as calls for service rose 29% from 1997 to 2020. (governor.ny.gov) The stipend program was originally limited to three core courses: Basic Exterior Firefighting Operations at $750, Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus and Interior Firefighting Operations at $1,250, and Fire Officer 1 at $1,000. In May 2025, Hochul added Basic Wildland Fire Suppression with a $250 reimbursement after a run of wildfires and the large Jennings Creek fire response. (governor.ny.gov, governor.ny.gov) The state program is administered by the Office of Fire Prevention and Control under General Municipal Law § 200-aa, which took effect August 31, 2023. The same law also allows local fire companies to run their own stipend programs for other approved courses, but not for classes already covered by the state. (dhses.ny.gov) The new expansion shifts state money beyond entry-level training and into rescue, instructor, and officer development. New York is betting that paying for more of that ladder will make it easier for volunteers to join, stay, and move up. (governor.ny.gov, dhses.ny.gov)
