ROSS TOWNSHIP VOLUNTEER FIREMEN RECRUITMENT & RETENTION COMMITTEE
Discount Club Update Ross Township has been blessed with a 100 % volunteer fire service for many years . The desire of this committee , business owners and every tax payer is to ensure that this purely volunteer group remains intact , well trained and ready to go .
Ross Township has 8 fire companies with approximately 300 volunteers consisting of fire fighters , administrative help , fire police and junior members . Every year state regulations make the cost and time requirements for training more demanding on new and veteran members . Each new member costs the companies upwards of $ 3,000 which is covered by Ross Township General Fund budget contributions , federal and state grants and fund raising efforts of the fire companies .
Help us thank them for the commitment and a job well done by becoming a member of the Ross Township Volunteer Firemen Discount Club . Any discount of any amount is deeply appreciated . Any volunteer requesting a discount at your establishment must present photo ID to receive the discount . The Discount Club listing of participants will be published in our magazine quarterly and posted at each fire hall . Following are the current participants :
• Bodytech North Hills
• Breen Law Firm , LLC
• Cable Orthodontics
• First National Bank
• Grady , Kastner & Gornick Orthodontics
• Huet Eye Associates
• Jersey Mike ’ s Subs
• North Hills Dairy Queen
• North Hills Printing
• Rusmur Floors Carpet One
Please contact any of your local firemen for a registration packet to sign up .
Committee Members : Fire Chief , Steve Reubi – Evergreen Fire Department Commissioner Daniel DeMarco – Ross Township Ward 1 Fire Chief , Jim Hughes – Quaill Fire Department
COMMUNITY
Public Safety
ROSS TOWNSHIP POLICE DEPARTMENT
SETTING YOUR SIGHTS HIGH WITH THE ROSS POLICE DEPARTMENT ’ S FIREARMS TRAINING UNIT
In order to ensure that its officers are prepared to meet the challenges faced during tense , uncertain , and rapidly evolving events while policing the complex suburban community of Ross Township , the Police Department maintains , in house , its Firearms Training Unit . The FTU , which is comprised of Sergeant David Eckels and Officers Barry Clifford , Gregory Garcia , and Daniel Papale , is primarily responsible for conducting annual mandatory qualification of the 43 sworn members of the department in firearms as well as other less lethal weapon systems such as the X26P Taser or CTS Super Sock Beanbag shotgun . Officers are required to successfully complete a course of fire both during daylight hours , and in darkness with handguns , rifles , and shotguns .
The Supreme Court has been very clear that mere qualification however , is insufficient in adequately training officers in the use of force and the FTU strives to provide the most complete , well rounded training possible for the department . Its members are certified to instruct in various disciplines by organizations such as the Pennsylvania State Police , the National Tactical Officers Association , the National Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors Association , the National Rifle Association , and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center . Officers receive in-service training in a variety of tactics , techniques , and procedures in addition to coaching in the mechanical skill sets associated with marksmanship . Indeed , studies have repeatedly shown that officers who have trained to a level of unconscious competence with their weapons are less likely to be involved in wrongful uses of force , and it is the goal of the FTU to have every Ross Police Officer reach that level of proficiency .
This fall , officers cross trained with EMS while on the range in the application of tourniquets and other casualty care .
In addition to the technical skills involved in marksmanship , the FTU places a strong emphasis on judgment and the decision making process in use of force incidents . The FTU works to train officers in realistic scenarios to correctly make split second decisions in both the use of force and deescalation techniques . To do this , they employ an interactive video training simulator known as FATS ( Firearm Training System ) where officers can interact with computer generated characters and are able to alter the course of events as they play out with their actions . The FTU also conducts oss Township
ROSS TOWNSHIP NEWS
ROSS TOWNSHIP ❘ SPRING 2018 57