Bayside Training Center to Offer Gun Safety Classes as Part of Growing List of Certifications – QNS

In 2016, the Bayside Volunteer Ambulance Corp. has undergone a significant transformation. Originally a first responder unit, it has evolved into a unique training center, now known as the BVAC Rescue Response Training Center.

This center offers a full range of safety courses, all under one roof. Today, in response to growing demand statewide and influenced by a 2022 Supreme Court ruling affirming the constitutional right to carry a pistol in public under the Second Amendment, the center is expanding its offerings to include gun safety course.

In response to New York State Rifle and Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen decision, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that individuals must complete a new firearms training course as part of the state’s new minimum standards. Prior to this ruling, New York was one of seven states that required residents to demonstrate the necessity of carrying a firearm when applying for a concealed carry permit.

As the governor unveiled the new concealed carry laws in response to the Supreme Court ruling she called “reckless,” BVAC President Christopher Capo began considering implementing the new course training.

Since Capo took over and led the transition to a training center, he has added an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) course and EPA certification. But among the 20 courses offered, the Basic Life Support CPR course, mandatory for many professions, remains the most popular on the site.

Most recently, BVAC launched a “Stop the Bleed” course, designed to equip individuals to deal with gunshot and stab wounds. But Capa knew that gun safety training is a different approach from the new courses he’s added to the list over the years.

“I wondered how the community would take this,” said Capo, a longtime Bayside resident. “But I thought we had a good response and people liked it. I have not received any negative feedback. »

He tested the waters by sharing the new course on community Facebook groups as he usually does. For the first course, he took it to BVAC’s sister facility, Medicine in Bad Places, at Lake Ronkonkoma on Long Island, to test the waters before bringing it to Bayside. Four people completed the course earlier this month.

“Since we teach how to save lives, we teach people how to prevent loss of life,” Capo said. “Integrating that, I thought, was the next step.”

The NYS Concealed Firearms Safety Course is a comprehensive 18-hour training course over two days. It covers basic procedures, such as cleaning and moving with firearms, as well as the mental state of the owner.

The state requirement is 16 hours, but since two hours are set aside for the range, BVAC wanted to make up for the two hours lost in the classroom by exceeding state standards.

He emphasized that this course is not intended to teach you how to shoot, despite the shooting component, which will not take place at Bayside. In the classroom, certified instructors use replica firearms and non-lethal ammunition during training.

BVAC instructors are NRA certified and many of them are retired police, EMS or military veterans with an average of 20 years of experience. Capo added that most of them are former “range masters” who “know the ups and downs of handling firearms” from experience.

“If I wanted to take an NRA course tomorrow, to become an instructor, I could do that. But I wouldn’t hire myself,” Capo noted. “Because you just don’t have the experience.” And that’s the most important part.

Since the new state law took effect in September 2022, classes on Long Island and upstate New York, where gun ownership is more popular, have been filling up. But in Queens and other parts of the city, Capo says he hasn’t seen offers of the same level.

“This is a safety course that I think is necessary in the region, and it appears to be necessary, from what I can see outside of our region,” he said. he said, adding: “I think people should be trained in all different types of training. of security. This is our goal.

Capo said he may offer other courses, such as gun safety courses and others geared more toward military and police, later.

Classes will be available at Bayside in late May and throughout the summer. He hopes that in the long term, license holders will come forward for renewals every three years, as is now required by law.

“Owning a gun is a huge responsibility,” Capo said. “But if you can train people to understand safety procedures, we hope it will save lives.” Hopefully there won’t be an incident where a child finds a handgun and shoots their sibling.