Councilman Zecca Proposes Fire Police Brigade and Volunteer Group
By: Jennifer Lee
Updated: November 1, 2011
Along with a functional fire department already in place in the City of Utica, Common Councilman Jim Zecca is proposing the City form a volunteer fire police brigade.
Joe, Councilman Zecca says creating a fire police brigade and volunteer group in the city will reduce the workload for police patrols.
Mr. Zecca is urging the future Mayor of Utica and fire chief Russ Brooks to form and use a volunteer fire and police force in the city.
If a program were to be created, he says the public safety center in Utica would be the ideal headquarters because it is underutilized.
"Right now we ask the police department to barricade the streets to keep the neighborhoods safe at a fire scene.
What could be utilized is these volunteers could come in and assist the police department at stabilizing the neighborhood and street and keeping the public away," says Zecca.
He says a volunteer brigade will help especially with a limited number of officers on the street in the evening and early morning hours.
Councilman Zecca says there is an auxiliary police force already formed in Utica
that assists the fire and police.
But he says the two volunteers that are a part of it have limited duties.
