Firefighters from multiple counties attended the Oxford Fire Department grass and brush fire training on March 16 at the Village of Oxford Fire Department. The training coincided with the first day of the annual statewide ban prohibiting residential brush burning from March 16 through May 14. (Photo by Kelli Miller)

OXFORD — The Oxford Fire Department held grass and brush fire training on March 16 at the Village of Oxford Fire Department. The training coincided with the first day of the annual statewide ban prohibiting residential brush burning from March 16 through May 14.

“The training instructor was New York State (NYS) Forest Ranger Jeremy Oldroyd, who taught about the burn ban itself, its legalities, and use of the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) forest ranger,” said Oxford Fire Chief Ron Martin.

Martin said, “Every firefighter can learn a great deal from our forest rangers, when it comes to wild land fires they are the experts and have extensive knowledge of fighting these fires.”

“Forest rangers assist us in many wild land fires and they will issue tickets in certain situations.” said Martin. “For example, if you have a fire that gets out of control and it burns somebody else’s property, they can issue tickets.”

“If you violate open burning regulations you can be subject to criminal and civil enforcement actions. Minimum fine is $500 for the first offense,” he added.

“Real world experiences were brought to the training,” Martin said, “Most of the rangers have been deployed to some of the western states and Canada, where they have fought many large fires.”