Monsey Fire Department Led Rockland County in Fire Emergency Call Responses in 2025

By Yisroel R. 

The Monsey Fire Department responded to 1,396 emergency calls in 2025, the highest total of any fire department in Rockland County, according to data released by the Monsey Fire District. 

On average, each response involved approximately 15 members and lasted about 25 minutes. Combined, those calls account for more than half a million minutes of volunteer emergency service during the year, not including training time, the work of 24/7 volunteer dispatchers, or operations by the department’s Rest & Comfort (RAC) Unit. 

Most fire departments operate with three chiefs. In a department handling roughly 300 calls per year, it is equivalent to about 100 calls per chief. With nearly 1,400 calls in 2025, Monsey’s call volume meant the equivalent per chief was over four times that number. 

To manage that level of activity, the district implemented operational changes aimed at improving response efficiency. Senior officers were issued response vehicles, allowing them to arrive quickly, establish control, and manage incidents before escalation, reducing pressure on chief officers. 

In early 2025, the district also created a Coordinator position, held by a former chief. The coordinator responds to alarms, establishes command when necessary, and assists chiefs during major incidents, providing additional on-scene leadership. 

The department also provided mutual aid to neighboring departments five times more often than it received mutual aid in return. According to district data, Monsey Fire Department rarely rolled a call, which would mean not acknowledging the dispatch within four minutes, and in most cases had an apparatus responding while the dispatch was still being transmitted, plus an officer arriving swiftly on the scene to establish command. 

Monsey Fire Department credits the department’s performance to its chiefs, officers, volunteer membership, dispatchers, and the Board of Fire Commissioners, noting that planning decisions and operational adjustments played a key role in maintaining response reliability throughout the year.