Thanks to volunteer efforts of local firefighters and builders, every Port Jervis fire company soon will be equipped with sturdy lockers to store and protect each firefighter's vital gear and supplies.

As a bonus, overall savings to the city's taxpayers have turned out to be tremendous. Rather than spending up to $300 per locker, the average cost for each sturdily built locker is about $30.

Port Jervis Fire Department Chief Jeff Rhoades praised the volunteers for helping to accomplish something that cost and safety-wise is a huge contribution to the department and to the city.

"It is a major cost savings all-around. Besides having no cost charged for time and labor, the department is only paying for materials at cost. The lockers will also give the gear a longer shelf life by allowing it to be hung up to dry and store properly," Rhoades said. "It's also a help safety-wise. Firefighters are able quickly suit up before get on the truck, get seat-belted as required by law, and are then all ready to go once they arrive on scene."

Rhoades said on average each firehouse will have 10 lockers, which, without PJFD's construction volunteers, could have taken up to 20 years to purchase.

Solution found by chance Past Chief Jim Rohner, now deputy chief of PJFD and deputy fire coordinator for Orange County, said metal gear lockers that can be installed in fire stations are available for purchase, but typically cost as much as $300 per locker.

Considering the number of volunteer members in Port Jervis Fire Department, he said that cost alone quickly became unreachable and other options were sought. If 10 lockers were built in each firehouse, the cost would be well over $20,000 to the department, especially as prices most likely increase with time.

Rohner, whose Neversink Lumber Co. is supplying materials at cost, said the idea came about by chance. He happened to be at a Battalion 7 meeting in Greenville when he noticed that members of the Greenville Fire Department had built their own lockers. With permission from the builder, firefighter Jim Decker, Rohner recorded the dimensions of the lockers and later met with Rhoades.

"After we realized the huge savings to the city, Victor Valentin, a member of Neversink Engine Company 1, volunteered to build the lockers using construction lumber and plywood," Rohner said. "He and his son Victor, who is a union carpenter by trade, have been working over the past months to build the gear lockers in all Port Jervis fire stations; the cost of which

is close to 90 percent less than it would have been to order to the lockers."

Firefighter Valentin said the process has been slow but steady, and the father-son duo is determined and committed to completing the job together.

"It is time-consuming, and we have to match our schedules to fit in with my son's work schedule, but it is nice to be working together side by side and to be able to help the department and city out," the senior Valentin said. "We have finished Hose 4's, Neversink's, and fire police lockers so far. Firefighters from each company have pitched in to help, and Hose 4's members did all the finishing and staining work. That was a huge help."

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