Join NYSAFC and the Islip Town Fire/EMS Museum from January 30 - February 1! The 2026 event will feature more than 175 vendors, plus seven fire/EMS seminars, including the special “Roundtable Discussion with the Last Lions” with FDNY Chiefs Vincent Dunn, Frank Leeb, John Norman, and John Salka. EMS providers can earn 1.5 CMEs on Sunday. Accredited Codes Training will also take place on Friday (special pre-registration required). Expo registration is $25 daily. Parking is free.

The association's 120th Annual Conference & FIRE 2026 Expo will be held June 10-13 in Syracuse. Changes for 2026 include reduced conference Full Term Registration fees ($50 for association Individual Members and $100 for non-members), a new Hands-On Training course – “Initial Attack: First-Due Company Operations,” and new event hours on Thursday. Free One Day Tickets for the expo will once again be available from exhibitors!

Applications are now being accepted for the NYSAFC Scholarship Program and the Chief Neil McNeight Hands-On Training Award. Nominations are being accepted for the Chief Fred Singer Fire Educator of the Year Award, James Wright Public Education Award, and New York State Fire Chief of the Year Awards. Please note changes to the Scholarship Program for 2026. Three $1,000 scholarship awards will be granted in memory of Chief Ward Bohner and his wife, Janice Bohner, Chief Anthony Messina, and Chief James Hare. The deadline for submitting required materials is April 1, 2026. Eligibility criteria is available in the Application & Nomination Package.

NYSAFC is pleased to announce the President Emeritus Chief James E. Hare Award has been instituted in the Scholarship Program and will be presented by the Chautauqua County & Monroe County Fire Chiefs Hospitality Committee. The program provides tuition assistance to NYSAFC Individual Members and their spouses and children. The Hare Scholarship Award will be presented to a student working toward an emergency services degree who is currently serving with a fire or EMS agency and who has participated as a junior/explorer/RAM.

Two single-day conferences for fire and life safety educators will be hosted by the New York State Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services Office of Fire Prevention & Control and NYSAFC in Ulster County on April 18 and Onondaga County on May 2.

Governor Kathy Hochul announced more than $38 million in state funding to enhance emergency communications for first responders across New York.

Governor Kathy Hochul rejected two major EMS support measures, prompting providers to caution that funding limits and rising costs could worsen coverage gaps.

Fire Chief Martin Tolan said other departments in the area are willing to take the extra firefighters if they want to continue volunteering.

After 90 years of service, the Fort Johnson Volunteer Fire Company’s last day of operation was December 31, 2025, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office.

The department continues to rebuild their firehouse after losing their previous building to a roof collapse a year ago when winter weather caused damage across the Mohawk Valley.

Ambulance costs shift from local taxpayers to tourists, due to new rental tax revenue.

The president and interim treasurer of the Monterey Volunteer Fire Department has been arrested for reportedly stealing more than $3,000 from the department, according to state and county officials.

FDNY Lieutenant Andrew A. Fredericks is the posthumous recipient of the FDIC International 2026 Tom Brennan Lifetime Achievement Award, to be presented to his family at FDIC 2026. A 21-year veteran of the fire service and a firefighter with FDNY Squad 18, Fredericks was lost on September 11, 2001.

Supraglottic airways approved, but not for BLSFR; EMS equipment changes take effect April 21, 2026.

Attention EMS educators! NYSAFC has issued a call for EMS presentations at the 120th Annual Conference & FIRE 2026 Expo to be held this June in Syracuse. The deadline to submit a proposal is February 23.

The revised guide in PDF format will be provided on a USB flash drive to all association Department Member agencies in February.

Acting Fire Chief Michael Moody has been promoted to permanent status, following a unanimous vote of the Ithaca Common Council. He began serving in the role in October of 2025, after Rob Covert retired.

The Chili Fire Department has been training teenagers for 55 years through a program that prepares them for careers in emergency services.

View the NYSAFC calendar of events.