Cortland Standard .net

By COLLEEN SIUZDAK
Staff Reporter
csiuzdak@cortlandstandard.net
HOMER — More than 20 motorcyclists Saturday braved the rains to complete a tour of about 50 miles to support the 12th annual Ride for Rotary event held in recognition of first responders.
The event, which also offered a 30-mile ride for bicyclists, raises money each year for the Cortlandville Regional Training Center. About 12 bicyclists participated in this year’s event.
The center, located on Tompkins Street Extension in Cortlandville, provides a central location for all emergency responders to train for the many different operations they may be called to do.
This year, the ride coincided with the club’s Emergency Services Day at the Community Building behind the Homer Fire Station. That event shows the community the different tasks firefighters can do, such as rapelling down a wall or freeing a person from a car.
Deputy Fire Coordinator Courtney Metcalf said Saturday the funds from the Rotary Club event help train all local and state emergency responders in different special operation scenarios.
Metcalf added that having the Emergency Services Day coincide with the Ride for Rotary was intended to increase awareness of the different calls responders would make.
“We wanted to make it a community event, (to) showcase what we do as first responders,” Metcalf said. “We’re thankful that everyone supports us.”
Last year, the Ride for Rotary event raised more than $6,000. The funds were used to add a computer lab in the center, giving the center the ability to have many users access the Internet at once.
Metcalf said in an e-mail Sunday afternoon that the funds this year will be used to buy materials to build a simulator on the back of the training center to teach responders what to do when a firefighter is trapped in a basement. Other equipment purchased will be pulleys, a life safety rope, and ladder belts which are used for basic “Rescue Tech” skills.
Matt Banazek, another organizer of the event, said this morning he expects the profit from the event to be about $4,000.
Trying to beat Saturday’s downpour, Jack and Dorothy VanCise hopped on their black and silver Honda Goldwing three-wheeled motorcycle to ride back home to Groton, saying they appreciate all that first responders do for the community.
Dorothy VanCise said it was their third year participating in the Ride for Rotary event.
“(It is important) to help the response people get money,” VanCise said.
After the motorists had left, kid-friendly events and demonstrations were held behind the Homer Fire station to enable youngsters to see what it is like to be a firefighter.
Ashley Compagni of Marathon watched her 5-year-old son Daemon Compagni crawl through a yellow tunnel and then come out to use a firefighter’s hose, squirting water through a pumpkin’s mouth, painted on two wooden displays.
Compagni said Saturday she has come to the event in the past few years because it is a fun, family-oriented thing to do.
Compagni also said it is important to support emergency responders because they are always there when people need them.
“These guys take care of us,” Compagni said. “It’s good to get the younger generation involved, too.”
Capt. Mike TenKate of the city fire department said Saturday that showing the public demonstrations of different special operations brings awareness to the variety of calls fire departments can handle.
“I think the concentration today is that firefighters do more than fight fires,” TenKate said. “There are a lot of other things we do when people call 9-1-1. When they don’t know who to send, they send the fire department.”
Training is also a huge component of being able to respond to different types of calls and the funds from the Rotary Club event really help responders update their training, TenKate said.
The Cortland Breakfast Rotary Club started the Ride for Rotary event soon after theSept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center to support the emergency responders who take care of the community.
Don Richards, owner of Finger Lakes Construction and a member of the Cortland Breakfast Rotary Club, said that giving the money to the Cortland County Regional Training Center is important because the funds given ensure that emergency responders will have the right equipment to be properly trained.
“If you ... or one of your loved ones needs a first responder, I think it’s pretty important to know when they show up that they’re properly trained,” Richards said. “It’s the community trying to help these volunteers because they are volunteering their time and putting their lives on the line.”