Stench60

A toughie, but I still believe Ossining takes the cake on this one. The only question would be concerning the departments of old lower Westchester *( The Bronx). While the dates that they were absorbed by the FDNY are well known, the early records of these departments have for the most part all disappeared. If any department were older than Ossining my money would have to be on The Mott Haven FD which merged in 1856 with the Melrose FD to form the Morrisania FD. The current "big city departments" of Westchester weren't organised until the mid 1850's to the early 1860's. * FYI/ Lower Westchester County was absorbed by the County of New York in two land grabs beginning in 1874 and then again in the late 1890's and cosolidation in 1901 into the City Of Greater New York.

And the Answer is........................... Washington H&L Co., No. 2 of Ossining, Organised 1813/ Ladder 42 Followed by Reliance E&H Co., No. 1 of Port Chester Organised 1823/ Engine 60 After that I believe Columbian Eng. Co., No. 1 of Peekskill is next and don't quote me on this one but I believe they were organised in 1828. As to the 1930- 1940 question I believe the Purchase FD was organised in the 1930's

Great post and something I've preaching for years. These new construction techniques are amazing in their propensity for failure, although the architects and engineers will never tell you that. If you have any oppurtunity pick up Frank Brannigans books and articles, they can be a bit dry but the information is priceless. Also Vinny Dunn, who is a fount of knowledge in construction and collapse. Also when your out and about look at the construction going on in your area, if your out in your rig stop by and walk through ( check with the chief first) as buildings are being constructed. You may not be able to do anything to stop the way these traps are being built, but you can sure as hell know when to get out or stay out. Francis Brannigan " Know your buildings!"

The driver of the ladder dispatches the call, turns over the phones and radios and then responds to the alarm.

The word on the grapevine is that the Battalion 15 trailer will be housed here in Port Chester. As to equipment, towing etc. that remains to be seen. We have had Decon training here due to being a reception center for Indian Point. I know quite a bit of this, if not all of the program, is being done in house by the county.

Not as crazy as you think. In this day and age when every Tom, Dick and Harry is e-mailing and posting signs in the firehouse to watch for stolen equipment and turnouts who's to say that the terrorists are just not going out and buying the stuff? In all honesty when was the last time Galls or any of the other suppliers asked for some type of proof of affiliation when you purchased something? They only care about their sales figures at the end of the day. I'm sure that DHS and DOD had a very good reason to raid the facility, also don't forget they also sell police supplies ( Body Armor! ) which would be of great use to your friendly neighborhood jihadist.

I really didn't want to get involved in this discussion, but now that it has been seperated from the 60 control issue it's a little less volatile. The misconception is that Port Chester operates a "Box" system, it doesn't. With the exception of certain places of high risk ( schools, hospitals, care facilities) which receive a full department response, the vestiges of the box system were eliminated in the mid 1990's. What is incorrectly called a "box" is actually a company call or dual company call as the case may warrant. The company call merely informs the department which two engine companies are to respond to the alarm. The system is based on the dispatch of the first due engine to the that particular address ( district engine ) as well as the duty engine for that month which is rotated on a monthly basis amongst the 5 engine companies and responds throughout the village as well as to mutual aid and stand-bys. Along with the two engine companies a ladder, the rescue and either one of the emergency trucks ( E-58 or E-59) is also dispatched. Also, from 7am to 7pm, you will have the RBFD dispatched if the call is within the village of Rye Brook. To use the term box is to mean a specified location that corresponds to a specified box number. In Port Chester two "box numbers", as some have called them, that are exactly the same can dispatched to locations literally miles apart. I hope that this explained the situation a little clearer for those who don't know the PC system, if not I'll try to answer your questions.

Mr. Maeder would have been Captain of Engine Co. No. 5 of the FDMV. There is no "Westchester Volunteer Fire Dept.", I'll try to contact someone from the members assoc. down there to see if they have any information for you. It does seem by the news article to be an interesting story.

Truly a shame, but as you say once E-One purchased them they went downhill almost immediately. I don't blame corporate america for this one, I blame the fire service for buying that garbage that's sold by E-One. I'd be the first to admit that "they don't build them the way used to" and you can't expect the kind of workmanship you had prior to 1970 ,but let's face facts, everything that E-One ever built that I had the misfortune to either work with or observe was a lemon.

I believe that we all need to realise that the PC/RB arrangement is, as has been pointed out, not mutual aid. However it is also not automatic aid or response. The Port Chester FD is the primary response FD in Rye Brook at all times. I apologise if I led this discussion in an unintended direction. I was simply trying to point out the drawbacks if RB were to go on it's own in it's current configuration.

Chris498, you're not a fool.... just someone with a different opinion that you are perfectly entitiled to have. As to mutual aid, I would be the last person to say, and I did point out in my last post that the system works, that mutual aid is not working. The problem is with politicians and bureaucrats who see mutual aid as a panacea, that knowing that the next community that is willing to provide itself with outstanding fire protection will provide help at the drop of a hat as soon as it's called for so they can operate their fire service on the cheap.

[-X Not even close to a million, and I'm sure they've done the math and figured out that it will cost them a hell of alot more than what they're paying PC to have a properly staffed dept. in place. As to mutual aid, are you suggesting that they create another Mt. Vernon situation? In all honesty Mutual Aid works perfectly, it's internal problems that create the issues. Why should PC supply fire protection for nothing when it's being paid for it now?

Was967, Maybe I'm dating myself but I can remember going to see " Live and Let Die" with Roger Moore as James Bond with my father, brother and several cousins at that drive in Whitestone. If I remember correctly it was torn down in the early "80's for the current multiplex. Thanks for bringing back a real great memory. PS. Anybody remember the old Pix Movie Theater in White Plains, always had the 2nd and 3rd releases of Disney movies. pps. for you kiddies, rereleases were the pre-video way of seeing a movie that was not going to be shown on TV, but that's another story.

The firehouse WILL be manned at night by the Port Chester FD.

Rye brook works a 7am to 7pm shift in their quarters responding with either their ladder or engine depending on the nature of the alarm. Port Chester provides 24/7 full coverage to Rye Brook as we have for the last 186 years, with one short, regretable lapse.

Mellor Hose No. 3's 74 Maxim is now in Alexandria NH, where it joins The Brooksville E& H Co. , No.5 1957 Mack and Reliance E&H Co., No. 1 1958 Ward LaFrance It's become a retirement home for our old engines. Trivia regarding the 74 Maxim... The engine was placed in service at the June 30, 1974/ July 1, 1974 Gullivers fire when Mellors 1956 Ahrens Fox was stripped of it's equipment and taken out of service. The switch was planned for that day and that was the place to do it as they would end up on scene for quite a while. Also this was the first non Ahrens Fox that Mellor had as a machine since 1926.

Chris 498 is partially right when he states that

A quick couple of notes on this topic. Also, please keep in mind that this is my first post on EMTBRAVO. First to the post that complained of all the re-lettering that would have to be done on the equipment, this is why departments are told by the county that the Radio Identifier numbers are not to be lettered on any equipment whether apparatus, hose, hand tools or turnout gear. The numbers we use on the radio merely differentiate the various Engine Co. No.1 , Engine Co., No 2, Ladder Co., No. 1 etc... in each department from the rest of the Engine Co., No. 1's etc... in the county. These county numbers can be changed at any time ( see the departments that used to have quads, quints and patrols) to what the county chooses. Secondly, the issue of the county actually operating a county wide fire service is not even woth the time and effort to discuss. It Is against NYS Law for a county to operate a fire department. There is absolutley zero chance of that being changed in anything approaching the forseeable future. We should concentrate our efforts on attainable goals, not What If scenarios best left to fiction writers. If I got you to pause and think, whether you agree with me or not I've done what I set to do.