New York state forest rangers are increasing wildfire training for local first responders and the National Guard as the wildfire risk in the Hudson Valley increases each year.
The rocky terrain behind Camp Smith in Cortlandt Manor is a perfect training ground for firefighters learning to drive Polaris all-terrain vehicles.

Instead of having to hike an hour to make it to a fire line or to a rescue, ... (Full Story & Photos)

This drill night was important to move our shed to help prep for our construction to improve and expand our facility.... (Full Story & Photos)

Apparatus pictured in order- Car 2402, Car 2401, Utility 189, Mini Attack 21, Engine 111, Rescue 22, Engine 112, Tanker 3.

Thank you to Jeanine LaMothe Jessup for the pics... (Full Story & Photos)

Special thank you to Flash Fire Industries for the amazing work they put into the classroom and live burn portion of this training.

To start this training off volunteers underwent a classroom presentation to understand the dangers and causes of flashover.

After classroom volunteers went into the burn trailer to see and feel the difference between a ventilated space and an unventilated space. Firefighters ... (Full Story & Photos)

We used this time to practice forced entry on inward swinging doors and hose advancement.

These are important skills for our interior firefighters to practice so that we can make quick and effective interior attacks.... (Full Story & Photos)