A lot has changed since town’s oldest department formed
The Delmar Fire Department this year is celebrating its 100th year of existence, after starting out with a single, horse-drawn hose cart in 1911.
Today, the department has two stations, an ambulance arm, several engines with hydraulic ladders and deck guns, and it responds to hundreds of calls every year. While much has changed, the department is staffed by 80 just 10 more volunteers than the original group noted on town documents when The Delmar Fire Company No. 1` was formed.
Since the beginning, firefighters have volunteered their service, as have the many members of other departments in town.
`While this might be about the 100th anniversary of the Delmar Fire Department, it’s also about the volunteerism about all the firefighters and fire departments in town,` said Steve Kroll, a spokesperson for the department. `It’s sort of symbolic of the volunteerism of all of these people.`
But looking back has been an enlightening experience for many members of the department, including commissioner, past chief and current historian Amos Bastiani. His research has revealed several surprises and a detailed history of the department’s progression.
`We know that they formed the department in 1911,` Bastiani said, adding that `There’s reference to a fire department existing prior to that point.`
The earliest mention that’s been located is a clipping from an 1893 edition of the Altamont Enterprise, which has an item out of Delmar about `the fire department` responding to an exploding lamp. Praised for bravery were J. Welch and N. and F. Rowe.
`I think it was just a bunch of people getting together and doing it,` said Bastiani of this early mention.
In 1911 however, things were made official. Alton C. Rowe was elected as the fire company’s first captain (basically the chief). Some might speculate that his home’s proximity to the firehouse and the fact he owned horses needed to pull the company’s hose cart might have played a hand in his election victory.
The original apparatus simply carried hose. When it got to the fire it would have to be loaded with water or tap into one of the wooden water mains that were in some areas. A few years later, the department purchased a soda/acid fire truck that was basically a giant chemical fire extinguisher.
In the absence of an electric siren or radio communications, firefighters were summoned by a `fire gong,` a railroad rail bent in a circle that was rung with a sledgehammer. Nearby churches sometimes used their bells to sound the alarm, as well.
In 1932, the first electric alarm system was installed. This consisted of a series of pull boxes posted at corners throughout the hamlet. When an alarm was pulled, a signal traveled to the firehouse, where a series of holes were punched into a paper tape, signaling which box was activated.
`You drove to that location, and you looked for a fire,` Bastiani said. `That was as good as it got in those days.`
Members of the Delmar Fire Company in this ca. 1940 picture are shown with the Packard Hearse that served as the organization’s first ambulance. Pictured standing, third from left, is Peter Applebee, owner of the vehicle.
The firehouse itself often served as a communal area. It was one of the few public buildings in town and always open for business, after all.
`The firehouse was used by the community. Churches used it, it was used for dances,` said department member and historian Pat Dorsey. `It was an organizational place they could hold activities.`
There are records, for example, of the firehouse being a meeting place for the discussion of air raid drills when World War I broke out. The department continues to be involved in the town, including ferrying Santa Claus down Delaware Avenue to light the holiday tree every winter.
In 1934, Delmar Fire Company No. 1 was reorganized into the Delmar Fire Department, which also helped establish the exact boundaries between the Delmar and Slingerlands fire districts.
One of the first actions of the new department was the purchase of a 1934 Mack fire engine. It remained in service for nearly three decades and is still used today as a parade vehicle. The engine has been purchased by the department membership, which works to keep it running and in gleaming condition.
It wasn’t too long before ambulance service was added to the department’s mission. In 1938 the Emergency Relief Squad was formed with a 1934 Packard Hearse owned by Peter Applebee. It became only the third ambulance service in Albany County, but it’s grown along with the town. In its inaugural year the ambulance responded to 26 calls, but last year fielded over 2,000.
As the town has grown, so has the mission of Delmar EMS and the fire department. A second station was built on Feura Bush in 1967, and in the late ’70s, ambulance service was expanded.
The scope of service for the fire department has also grown. Members answer 300 calls on average every year. Delmar EMS operates around-the-clock with paid staff.
Firefighters held a celebration of the centennial in May. The public can look forward to an open house that is held every October, when residents are welcomed in to tour the facilities and meet and greet the volunteers.
Anyone who has memorabilia, memories or photographs of the early days of the Delmar Fire Department is welcomed to contact department historians at [email protected].“
