Welcome to the

Campbell Hall Fire Department

13 Maybrook Road

Campbell Hall, NY 10916

Phone: 845-427-2888     Fax: 845-427-2581

Proudly Serving the Town of Hamptonburgh Residents and Visitors Since 1914

Membership in the department is on a volunteer basis.  Of the membership, approximately 65 members are active.  Of these 65 members, some are trained EMT's (emergency medical technicians) and CFR's (certified first responders).

This site is under construction

13 Maybrook Rd.

Campbell Hall, New York

PHILIP LAVORGNA - Chairman

John Lewis -- Commissioner Joseph Volkmer - Commissioner

William Moore - Commissioner Robert Oliver - Commissioner

Jay Samuelson - Secretary Jane E. Samuelson - Treasurer

On September 7, 2010, registered voters residing in the Hamptonburgh Fire District will vote in favor of or against the

establishment of a service award program for active volunteer firefighter members of the Otterkill Engine Company No.

1. There will be a PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING HELD ON AUGUST 31, 2010, AT 7PM, about the

proposed program. The meeting will be held at the Campbell Hall Firehouse. The Hamptonburgh Fire District Board of

Fire Commissioners and a representative of Penflex, Inc., the firm which the Fire District has retained to help establish the

Program, will explain the Program and answer questions about the Program.

New York State political subdivisions have been able to establish service award programs for their volunteer firefighters

since January 1, 1990. Service award programs are intended to help recruit and retain active volunteer firefighters.

The proposed Hamptonburgh Fire District Service Award Program in operation is like a simple defined benefit pension

plan. For each year of active volunteer firefighter service credit earned, a volunteer will be paid a $20 monthly Service

Award beginning at age sixty-two (62). The Service Award payments will continue for the firefighter's lifetime with a

minimum of ten (10) years of payments to be made to the volunteer or his beneficiary. A volunteer will earn a year of

service credit by accumulating a minimum State law required number of points under a point system during each year for

attending fire company drills, responding to calls, completing training courses, attending company meetings, completing a

one-year term as an officer and for other various activities. The earned Service Award of a volunteer generally will not be

vested until he or she earns credit for five (5) years of service under the point system. Volunteers who earn a year of

service credit during calendar year 2010 or 2011 are eligible to earn credit for up to five years of Otterkill Engine

Company No. 1 service prior to January 1, 2010 and after December 31, 2004 during which the volunteer was at least 18

years old and, based upon available records, would have earned service credit under the point system. There will be a

death benefit payable under the Program for death prior to age sixty-two (62) equal to the actuarial value of the

volunteer's earned Service Award at the time of death. In addition, there will be a disability benefit payable under the

Program for total and permanent disablement before age sixty-two (62) also equal to the actuarial value of the volunteer's

earned Service Award at the time of disablement. Calendar year 2010 will be the first year that active volunteer firefighters have the opportunity to earn the required points under the Service Award Program Point System. In calendar year 2011, the Fire District will begin to fund the Program

for those volunteers who earned the required points in 2010. The Program will be funded by the property taxpayers of the

Hamptonburgh Fire District. For current volunteers, the annual cost of the program could be as much as $91,000;

however, the Fire District will be making its last payment of $160,000 in 2010, to pay for the addition to the Firehouse

building. Therefore, it is expected that there will be no net cost increase to the taxpayers of the Hamptonburgh Fire

District. After ten (10) years, the cost of the Program for current firefighters will be expected to decrease by about 30%

(percent) when the cost of paying Service Awards for volunteer firefighter service before calendar year 2010 will be fully

paid. Ed Holohan, the President and Actuary of Penflex Inc., is assisting the Fire District to establish the Program. Ed

Holohan/Penflex has helped establish and/or administer about 250 Service Award Programs in New York State.

Currently, it is estimated that there is about seven hundred (700) Service Award Programs in place throughout volunteer

fire departments in New York State. The Programs have generally been effective in retaining active volunteer firefighters,

and to a lesser extent, at recruiting new volunteers. Various organizations throughout New York State and the United

States have been studying the volunteer firefighter recruitment issue. Solutions to the recruitment problem are complex,

but will certainly be forth coming. A recent study conducted by the National Volunteer Fire Council indicated that

volunteer firefighters save taxpayers almost 40 billion dollars each year in the U.S.