Firefighters at Stewart Air National Guard Base are known to be called to duty throughout the tri-state area, but what the public may not know - until now - is that leadership has allegedly been cutting corners.

News 12 has obtained a violation notice by the New York State Department of Labor showing the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs was issued four serious citations in October for failing to properly train members.

The state found firefighters were given safety gear they weren’t trained to use and that an inexperienced member was driving a fire truck when he got into an accident during a mutual aid call in the City of Newburgh last May. The Department of Labor also found members aren’t getting initial or routine training that’s required to be qualified for the job, putting firefighters at risk for “injury or death.”

News 12 interviewed a Stewart ANGB Fire Department retiree about the violations. He asked to be kept anonymous for fear of retaliation by state officials.

“This is not a new problem. It’s been happening throughout the years with many different managers mismanaging the program,” says the retiree. “Management refuses to keep up the training and safety standards and threaten firefighters to close down the program if they don’t tow the line and do whatever they’re told.”

News 12 reached out to the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs. A representative acknowledges the violations and says one has been fixed and the others will be resolved by mid-January.

The CSEA represents firefighters on base. Union President Jessica Ladlee says training is “vital to employee safety” and that she’s confident the issues will be fixed.