Yonkers Tribune

YONKERS, NY -- December 26, 2013 -- A major fire along the South Broadway Business Improvement District near McLean Avenue has caused the evacuation of 250 Yonkers Residents into the cold outdoors with some wearing little more than pajamas. The four-alarm fire began around the late afternoon. It is unlikely residents will be able to return to their homes tonight; the fire was extinguished before Midnight. Water used to fight the flames seen from miles away evaporated among the acrid, black smoke from the heat of the fire or found its way to the street creating streams of water hugging the curbs, likely to ice up over the wintry cold night ahead.

Click to read Barry McGoey's Letter to the YFD Members 

Local 628 - I.A.F.F. President Barry McGoey (pictured) sent out a letter dated December 1, 2013, to be posted on the bulletin boards of each Firehouse and Fire Facility in the City of Yonkers. The letter speaks to keeping the membership abreast of any significant developments in contract negotiations, or lack thereof, legal proceedings, contract grievances, PERB proceedings, and other important issues. The issues addressed in the PDF document are timely. The concerns are complex. The letter defines the isses in a respectful, palatable and understanding manner. The PDF details and then deciphers the implications of the binding agreement that won majority support by the PBA membership. The contract is expected to gain approval of the Yonkers City Council when the issue of approving the PBA contract will come before the Yonkers City Council in the December 3rd City Council meeting.

Editor's Note: The Letter to the YFD Membership replicated above was obtained through the resources of the Yonkers Tribune and not afforded our readers at the behest of Local 628 - I.A.F.F. President Barry McGoey. 

Do You See What I See?

It seems Yonkers City Hall may have finally figured it out… or did they? You be the judge. Notice was received this Tuesday morning that 50 Probationary Firefighters were hired and that they would be sworn in at the Riverfront Library this day at 3:00 p.m. The radio show concluded, the first City Council Rules meeting later in the evening, it was an auspicious occasion I wanted to attend. The Riverfront Auditorium was packed with family members, colleagues, and friends at attendance to celebrate 50 Firefighters becoming members of a larger and proud department; the Yonkers Fire Department (YFD). The pride of family, family names, neighborhood friendships all coalesced at this celebration and many others kept private. Knowledge of each other, family, and respect for the department was undeniable; you could not help taste it – and it was sweet. And that is when reality set in…

Groundbreaking Government Study Calls into Question Whether the Yonkers Fire Department has Large Enough Fire Crews Responding to Existing and Proposed High-Rise Buildings 

Clink to: Download NIST 2013 High_Rise_Report

Click to: Download Executive_Summary of NIST 2013 High_Rise_Report

Public officials in the City of Yonkers should take a fresh look at the Yonkers Fire Department’s fire fighting capabilities in light of a new federal government study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) – an arm of the U.S. Department of Commerce – that documents the effects of fire crew size on lives saved and property protected.

YONKERS, NY -- March 15, 2013 -- It is Friday night, March 15, 2013. Off-duty Yonkers Firefighter Dan Colon is enjoying the company of his wife over a repast at the Outbank Steakhouse on Central Avenue when he recognizes an elderly woman near where they where seated in distress. The woman was choking. Without a second of hesitation, Firefighter Colon, a Certified First Responder, sprang into action. After ascertaining 911 had been called, he began performing abdominal thrusts on the choking patient. After several abdominal thrusts, the obstruction causing her to choke was dislodged, expelled, and she began to again breather normally. A proud and successful moment indeed! Shortly thereafter, Yonkers Fire Department Squad 11 arrived at the scene, attended to the woman and awaited Empress EMS ambulance to arrive before returning to the firehouse.

YONKERS, NY – March 14, 2013 – The Yonkers Fire Department today issued warnings to City businesses regarding possible unauthorized fire extinguisher inspection visits to their businesses.

Over 50 Firefighters Needed to Extinguish Blaze

A complicated two-alarm blaze in the deep woods off of Odell Avenue in the northwest section of Yonkers erupted before 9 pm Monday night, February 25^th, requiring over 50 Yonkers Firefighters to gain control of the flames. The vacant two-story stone and wood frame building, believed to be over 100 years old, was completely engulfed upon the firefighters ’ arrival.

YONKERS, NY -- February 18, 2013 -- Yonkers Firefighters are battling a four-alarm blaze in the southwest section of the city, which has late this afternoon been the catalyst for engaging mutual aid assistance from the Village of Eastchester, and the Cities of Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, and White Plains. The City of Yonkers (CoY) was having to bring in off-duty personnel to pick up spare Yonkers Fire Trucks to cover the Firehouses that would have been unattended since all the Fire Fighters were engaged in fighting the ravenous fire that caused 10 families to lose their homes in the cold temperature of the late afternoon.

ERROR CORRECTED HEREIN IN OPENING PARAGRAPH- February 14, 2013 @ 9:00 a.m.

YONKERS, NY --  February 13, 2013 -- Yonkers City Hall will be hiring a class of entry-level Firefighters this Friday, February 15, 2013.  A ceremonial swearing-in event is said to take place at the Yonkers Riverfront Library and officiated by Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and followed thereafter by what is known as the "official" swearing in process to be conducted by Acting Yonkers City Clerk Vincent Spano.

Mayor Spano swears in Yonkers Fire Commissioner Robert Sweeney. Photo by and courtesy of City of Yonkers.

YONKERS, NY -- August 31, 2012 -- Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano today swore in Robert Sweeney as the City’s new Fire Commissioner. Sweeney joins the Yonkers Fire Department (YFD) after spending 33 years with the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), most recently serving as the department’s Chief of Operations, managing the department’s day-to-day operations.