The Westchester County Cause and Origin Team (C&O) was formulated by the Arson Task Force back in 1981. This central resource is available to local fire departments and police departments upon request, with trained experts to assist in determining the origin and cause of fire and explosions that occur in their jurisdiction.

The Team is comprised of up to 32 New York State certified fire investigators, who are volunteer firefighters or police officer.  There are five geographically organized response Zones in the County. Zone 1 comprises the cities of Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, White Plains and Yonkers, each of whom have their own fire investigation unit.  Zones 2, 3, 4 and 5 each have six Fire Investigators and two Adjunct Investigators and are supervised by two Deputy Fire Coordinators.  Eugene Malone III (Retired Deputy Chief Fairview FD) and James Cuffe (Retired Sergeant North Castle PD) are assigned geographically throughout the county.

The primary objectives of the Cause and Origin Team are:

• Establish and maintain a quality service to assist fire chiefs in the determination of the origin and cause of suspicious fires throughout the county, consistent with the requirements of GML 204(d).
• Establish and maintain standards for training and experience of police and fire professionals engaged as Cause and Origin Team members.
• Establish and maintain standardized call-out procedures and dispatches for the Cause and Origin Team
• Establish and maintain standardized reporting procedures for the Cause and Origin Team.

The Cause and Origin Team works together with multiple agencies including: local police departments, local fire departments, the Office of the District Attorney, the Department of Laboratories and Research, the Office of the Medical Examiner, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, to name a few.  Bringing together police and fire professionals trained in fire investigation results in a more team investigation.  This enhances the success in determining the origin and cause of the fire, as well as the subsequent criminal investigations undertaken by local police departments.

Team Members

Arson Task Force Executive Board Members

The Grasslands Fire Brigade offers fire suppression and life safety services to the Grasslands Campus and Westchester Medical Center located in Valhalla. Service is provided Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. with after-hour coverage provided by Valhalla and Hawthorne Fire Departments.   

Presently there are 13 volunteer members of the brigade, comprised of employees from the County Departments of Emergency Services and Public Works. All members are NYS or Nationally Certified Firefighters and EMT's or CFR's. 

To ensure proficiency in skills for safe operations, all members are required to attend monthly training classes and drills on various subjects ranging from fire suppression, rescue to CPR and First Aid. All training is conducted at the County Fire Training Center located at 4 Dana Road, Valhalla, NY. 

The Grasslands Fire Brigade headquarters are located at the DES training center at 4 Dana Road, Valhalla, under the direction of This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

OFFICERS
Chief Robert Russell, III - 2541
Chief Neil Caputo - Car4/2542
Chief Chief Denis Halloran - 2543
Capt. John Munson - 2544
Capt. Jason Ward - 2545
Capt. Jason Lewer - 2549

FIREFIGHTERS
Tom Alessi - Driver E7
Jospeh Primerano - L7 Driver
Brett DiBattista - Firefighter
Dennis Delborgo - Firefighter
Matt Kavaler - Firefighter
Anthony Scafidi - Firefighter
Samantha Stretz-Fejes - Firefighter
Christopher Johnson - Firefighter
Julia O'Brien - Firefighter

For classes hosted at the Department of Emergency Services (DES) visit DES Training.

The EMS division coordinates educational offerings for community EMS providers and disseminates training and educational announcements and associated information to agencies and providers. The intent is to increase the availability of training opportunities to ensure the highest level of proficiency in the field.  

Additional EMS training opportunities are offered throughout the county. Below are links to information regarding other available training posted on the Westchester Regional EMS Council's website.

• Certification Courses: NYS EMS certification courses in the Westchester region
• ALS Call Audit: Call Audit class schedule

The Department of Emergency Services has developed an Emergency Responder Reference Guide for distribution to all County EMS, Fire, and Police agencies. This handy booklet is intended to serve as a quick reference guide for first responders to use at emergency scenes. We ask that it be placed in your agency’s emergency vehicles. We have attempted to supply one for each first line apparatus in your agency. This guidebook is not meant to replace any agency SOP’s, nor is it intended to substitute for an individual’s judgment.