Fishkill FD

Special Service Unit Collapse Rescue Training

Tue, 19 May 2009 15:35:00 -0400

Fishkill, NY - May 16 - 17, 2009; The members of the Fishkill Fire Department Special Service Unit completed their FEMA USAR Technician Shoring Class on the weekend of May 16th and 17th. The class was taught by Collapse Rescue Systems Inc. which is widely considered to be the best structural collapse training company in the country. The members of the Unit were trained in many different types of structural rescue shoring as well as the use of Paratech struts.

The Special Service Unit encompasses the members of our F.A.S.T. Team, who are now being cross-trained as Collapse Rescue Technicians. This training will allow our department to better serve the people in our community, as well as the firefighters in neighboring communities who call for the services of our F.A.S.T. Team to protect them.

Much of the specialized collapse rescue equipment that is used by the unit was purchased with the help of a grant from Senator Steve Saland.

106th Annual Turkey Supper UPDATE

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:51:00 -0400

Fishkill, NY - March 7, 2009; Protection Engine Company held its 106th Annual Turkey Supper at the Fire Station located at 1132 Main Street on Saturday night, March 7th. This fundraiser was well attended by Village residents, neighboring firefighters, and other friends of the Fire Department. As with all fundraising events in this challenging economic time, the numbers were off but the attendees again enjoyed a "community event� where they not only were served a delicious meal but were able to socialize with neighbors and friends. Many take-out orders were also delivered by the members to residents that could not make the trip to the fire station.

Event Chairperson and President Jeff Lucariello with the help of many members again did a fantastic job coordinating and running this fundraising event. A special acknowledgement goes out to the many friends of PECo that helped serve, prepare and clean-up from this supper.

Thank you to all that supported this event in one way or another.

Hope to see you at the supper again in March of 2010.

106th Annual Turkey Supper

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:00:00 -0500

March 07, 2009 will mark the 106th time Protection Engine Company of Fishkill, NY has served this Annual Event. (click "read more" for details and prices)

In 1904, Protection Engine Company was reorganized from Eureka Engine Company and one of the methods the organizers used to raise funds for Protection Engine Company was to sponsor a yearly dinner prepared by the members and their families for the community. In the beginning ham and turkey was served with all the trimmings at Van Wyck Hall on Main Street in the Village of Fishkill because the Fire House on Robinson Street was too small to accommodate such a dinner. The tradition of home cooking with all the trimmings, served family style, moved in the 1940�s with the Company to a new Fire Station at 1132 Main Street and has continued for over 100 years.

Please join Protection Engine Company�s Officers, Members and their families for a hardy meal on Saturday, March 07, 2009.

Date: March 07, 2009
Place: Protection Engine Company, 1132 Main Street, Fishkill, NY
Times:

Seating at 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Take-out and local home delivery service is available.

Prices: Adults $ 11; Seniors & Children $ 10; Children under 12 $ 7; Take-out/delivery $ 12

Please call Protection Engine at (845) 896-6613 for dinner reservations and/or to arrange for take-out or home delivery service.
We look forward to seeing all of our friends and neighbors on March 07, 2009, please call early to guarantee your seating.
Thank you,
Jeff Lucariello
Dinner Chairmen

Fire Prevention Week 2008

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:44:19 -0500

by Allan R. Way, Company Historian

Fishkill, NY - Every year during fire prevention week, (the week in October with the 9th in it) the fire prevention team of the Fishkill Fire Department presents informative and entertaining presentations to many schools, preschools and other civic organizations. The following series of photographs were taken on October 8, 2008 of the afternoon preschool class from the deKinder School on Main Street.

The School children walked over to the Fire Station where they met firefighter Rich Wolfe and Lt. Bill Van Pelt who helped the students participate in several interactive sessions as well as taught them many important safety practices.

Students made 911 calls and learned how important it is to call that number ONLY for a real emergency. They learned that fire eats air and that when air is taken away from fire, the fire goes out. They learned to never touch fireworks even though they look pretty, they are very dangerous. And they learned about safety near the kitchen stove.

Students also practiced stop, drop, and roll. They learned how to feel a door for heat with the back of their hand before opening it if they should smell smoke in their house. They practiced how to crawl low in a smoke filled room. They learned that they should not be afraid of a fire fighter dressed in his turnout gear coming to help them, even if the fire fighter looks like Darth Vader. They visited the engine room and those who wanted to, went inside a fire engine. Then it was time to go back to school.

Second Alarm Fire at 973 Main Street

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 22:33:09 -0400

Alarm Photos

Fishkill, NY - On October 11, 2008 at 1953 hours, the Village of Fishkill Fire Department was dispatched for smoke coming from the building that housed Pizza Phil�s at 973 Main Street.

At 1954 hours, 42-1 (Chief Scofield) called on the scene with smoke showing from the building.

At 2001 hours a Second Alarm was transmitted for a 2 story commercial, 50 x 75 with smoke showing throughout the structure.

Primary and secondary searches of the number 1 and number 2 floors were done with negative results.

At 2019 hours, 42-1 advised that the fire was knocked down.

At 2141 hours, 42-1 advised that the fire was out and mutual aid units were taking up. The fire investigation will continue.

At 2350 hours, 42-1 advised the fire investigation is complete and all Fishkill units are in-service.

Fishkill was assisted at the scene by the East Fishkill FD FAST Team, Hughsonville FD, Rombout FD, Dutchess County Dept. of Emergency Response, Mobile Life Support, and the Village of Fishkill Police. Glenham, City of Beacon, East Fishkill and Chelsea provided stand-by coverage.

Pictures are courtesy of several sources.

7th Annual PECo Golf Outing 2008

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:00:17 -0400

New Paltz, NY � October 6, 2008 The seventh Annual Protection Engine Company # 1 Golf Outing was held at the Apple Greens Golf Club. The event started with a �shotgun� start at 9 AM using the scramble format. As the players made their way around the course refreshments were delivered and lunch was served at the �turn�.

After everyone completed their round of Golf, all headed back south to Greenbaum & Gilhooley�s restaurant in Wappingers Falls for dinner and award presentations. Awards were presented for closest to the pin, longest drive, and low scoring teams.

Again, a special thank you to Keith Scofield the Event Chairperson and all the volunteers that worked to make this a very enjoyable day; all the local merchants that sponsored holes and/or donated products and services for the raffle and to all the players for their continued support.

Fishkill Tire Shop Fire (1971)

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:45:11 -0400

Photos by Rev. William Siktberg

By Allan R. Way, Company Historian
Photographs by Rev. William Siktberg

The late afternoon of Friday, October 8, 1971 was mild. The evening rush hour was starting to die down. Of course that is a relative statement because the evening rush in those days usually didn�t last but a half hour or so. It was about 5:30pm when men working in the back yard noticed smoke coming from the basement. Protection Engine Company responded immediately to the alarm of fire on Main Street, which turned out to be the largest (3-alarm) such Main Street blaze since the Grand Union Plaza fire in 1962. The building that housed the Fishkill Tire and Auto Supply Company, at what is now 1103 Main Street, had an abundance of thick black smoke seeping from it. The building, for many years before the Tire Shop took up ownership in 1969, was home to Auchmoody�s Fishkill Hardware. It was the last in a series of abutted brick structures that started at North Street and moved west- The Busy Bee, The White House, Edmond�s Florist, and Fishkill Tire. A driveway separated Fishkill Tire from a wooden frame house occupied at the time by Arthur and Cecile Stern, proprietors of the Fishkill Department Store. Another drive way, then the small building housing Otto�s Meat Market, a larger building housing a Barber Shop, and then the Van Wyck Hall. The brick buildings were all built after the disastrous fire of 1871 that destroyed a good deal of Main Street. The fact that the Tire Shop blaze occurred within a couple of months of the 100th anniversary of that disastrous blaze was not overlooked by many of us.

Chief Glenn Scofield Sr. and Assistant Chief Don Williams Sr. were in charge of the incident. George Wolfe was Captain at the time. Rad Wilson was First Lieutenant and Michael Gallagher, Albert Carr, and I were Second Lieutenants. Engine 1 (Ward LaFrance) was the first to respond. It located to the main street side of the building. Engine 2 (GMC) and Engine 3 responded soon after. Engine 2 hit the hydrant in front of the Fishkill Pharmacy (Corner of North Street and Main Street). I was directed to drive Engine 3 to set up a supply line from Givens Lane to the rear of the building.

The seat of the fire was determined to be in mid-basement. An initial attack was commenced through the basement door at the rear of the building using 1 �� hand lines from Engine 3 and a second hand line from Engine 1. Many, many tires were stacked to the ceiling with passageways between them extremely tight.

Through dense black smoke, the diffused deep cherry red glow of flame could be seen, but the seat of the flames could not located. Attempts at approaching the seat of the fire proved virtually impossible owing to maneuverability room being extremely limited by piles of tires and other wares stored in the basement and the incessant churning of the dense black smoke rendering our firefighters virtually blind in unfamiliar surroundings. The entry crews tried several ways to force water to their �best guess� of the fire location. But, to no avail. And then their air tanks ran out of air and they had to back out. Just as they were clearing the basement door, a terrific back draft explosion occurred blowing smoke and flame through the door and knocking those near the door preparing to make the second entry, off their feet. Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt but the fire gained a strong hold in the much-refurbished interior of the building and ignition of tires was well under way.A simultaneous attack was also attempted into the front door of the building. The thick smoke, heat and stacks of tires inhibited any kind of effective advance. More than one fire fighter reported not being able to see his hand in front of his face. One report received by PECO was that there were 3000 tires stocked in the building in the basement and first floor. Some tires were removed by the team as they attempted their entry on the first floor.

The first floor of the building had multiple ceilings one of which was made from ornate copper and painted. Walls had been placed over other walls with a variety of building materials and were in some places more than one foot thick. It acted like an oven with the heat generated from the lowest point in the building. After several attempts to extinguish the fire with foam and to access the fire through walls of tires, concern for the remainder of the block became paramount. The foam and water simply did not reach the fire because it was blocked by the tires and other wares. And so a decision was made to confine the fire to the building of origin in attempt to save the remaining buildings in the block. Assistant Chief Don Williams Sr. worked the roof command with the City of Beacon personnel. Through the skillful use of the ladder truck from the City of Beacon, the fire was forced to burn around the edges of the roof of the tire shop allowing the center of the roof to pancake into the building.

Ground crews kept a close watch on the interior walls of the adjacent building. The strategy was successful. The block was saved. The thick brick wall between the Tire Shop and Florist probably also contributed to the containment of the blaze. The Florist Shop did receive significant smoke and water damage and the White House and the Busy Bee also received water damage in their basements.Mutual aid companies included the Slater Chemical Company from Glenham, the Rombout Fire Company,New Hackensack, Chelsea, Hughsonville and Mase Hook & Ladder from the City of Beacon. The East Fishkill Fire Department responded with their hose truck from EF Station 1 and laid a water supply line from the Route 9 Bridge over the Fishkill Creek to the scene that augmented the Village mains. The Mutual Aid brought together over 150 firefighters to combat the blaze. Sloper - Willen and Beacon Volunteer Ambulance crews stood by at the scene. The Village Police, Dutchess County Sheriff Office, and Town of Fishkill Constables also assisted as did the Dutchess County Bureau of Fire. The fire was finally brought under control about 1:00 AM Saturday, October 9th but it was not officially extinguished until Sunday evening, October 10th at 8:15 p.m., some 50+ hours and after we received the alarm. This is still a PECO record for the longest continuous alarm the company had ever responded to.

Deluge guns were used almost continually from the time the roof caved in until the official call of �Fire�s out�. With the roof lying on top of the second floor and the second floor on top of the first floor with hundreds of tires buried and smoldering in the rubble, it was the only safe way to maintain control and expect extinguishment. Engine 3 was reassigned basement pump-out duty. Water had spread through all the remaining store basements as well. So, the objective became to keep the water level below the electric service distribution in the block. Water was not a problem. Between the mains and the line from the Fishkill Creek, plenty of water was available. But as you may know, putting out a burning tire with water is much more difficult than putting out a piece of wood on fire with water.

The water department reported pumping more than a million gallons during the alarm. This included additional water from the City of Beacon system. The weather was cooperative. Low winds and relatively cool temperatures aided the firefighting During a review of the premises Sunday morning, the Chief noted that the western wall had become unstable. He felt the safest thing to do was to force the wall down. Using deluge guns played on the wall, the Company did just that. The entire building was later razed and a new structure for the Tire Shop with a significant setback was erected on the site where it remains today (10 AUG 2008).As timing would have it, Glenham�s Slater Chemical Company was celebrating its 50th Anniversary on Saturday, October 9th. PECO appreciated their support with the blaze and subsequent extra clean-up they went through to make ready for the celebration parade. PECO was also invited to participate in the Glenham parade. So, without sleep, and a quick shower and change, a considerable representation from PECO marched in Glenham the afternoon of the 9th while Hughsonville Fire Company manned the deluge guns in front of the Tire Shop. After the parade, the membership returned to the fire lines to spend another night and day extinguishing the still smoldering rubble.

Many firefighters knew the story of Fishkill�s Great Fire in December of 1871 almost 100 years before. Most men did not sleep, so determined were they that this fire would not be a repeat of those times. The effort was well commended by the village residents as they praised the work of the men in saving the block and limiting the loss to the Tire Store. Much of that credit for the effort rightly went to Chief Glenn Scofield and his Assistant Chief, Don Williams.

Annual Inspection and Clam Bake

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:18:30 -0400

Inspection Picnic 2008

Fishkill, NY - Saturday, June 28, 2008 The annual Department Inspection was held followed by a Clam Bake at Sarah Taylor Park in the Village of Fishkill. The weather was great for the Brothers and their families to enjoy an afternoon of recognition and camaraderie. Joining the Department for the event were several mutual aid department representatives, officials from the Village of Fishkill, and other close friends of the Department.

The Program started with a welcome and thank you from Ex-Chief Glenn Scofield Jr. and President Jeff Lucariello followed by the introduction of guests by Chief Dean Scofield.

50 Year Service Award Ceremony

Richard �Dick� Macewicz

John Ligotino (Posthumously as John passed away one week before our Inspection)

25 Year Service Award Ceremony

Richard �Radar� Wolfe was recognized for 25 years of active service.

The F. T. Williams Memorial Award was presented to Past Assistant Chief Richard �Radar� Wolfe and Lieutenant William �Bill� VanPelt for their extensive work on Fire Prevention Programs and with Child Mentoring. Congratulations Radar and Bill!

Ex-Chief Glenn Scofield Jr. ended the formal program with a thank you to all the Brothers, a special thank you to their respective spouses and a Moment of Silence for the Brothers that have passed away.

This year�s event committee was Dean Scofield, Glenn Scofield Jr., Pete Phillips and Rad Wilson.

Fine job men!

Village of Fishkill Memorial Day Parade & Service

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:02:28 -0400

Fishkill, NY � May 26, 2008 The Village of Fishkill with the help of VFW Post 1286 sponsored a Memorial Day Parade and Memorial Service. The Parade stepped off from Church St. at 10:30AM with a Joint Police Color Guard from the Town and Village leading the parade down Main St., to Jackson St., to Broad St. and ending at Monument Square near Rt. 9 and 52. The Wappingers Central School Band provided music with several Boy and Girl Scout troops, Little League teams, Civic Organizations and Societies, Fire Departments, Police Departments, a Bagpiper and elected officials enthusiastically participating.

At 11:00AM at Monument Square, Master of Ceremonies, Deputy Mayor Peter Phillips started the Memorial Service with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and the singing of the National Anthem. The VFW placed wreaths at the Monument; Kaitlyn Miccio sang, Levi Horton was the Key Note Speaker and "Honored Guest", and the Village Essay Contest winner, Jack Decker, was announced and read his winning essay.

The Memorial Service was officially closed and all were invited to assemble for refreshments at the Dutch Reformed Church Fellowship Hall.

A special thanks to all of the Brothers that volunteered their time to march in this Memorial Day Parade!

C. Milton Wolfe 2008 Scholsrship Award

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:20:52 -0400

Fishkill, NY � July 2, 2008 John Jay High School�s Lucio Battista met with members of the Benevolent Association at the Fishkill Fire Station to receive the C. Milton Wolfe Scholarship Award, which is given each year by the Fishkill Exempt Firemen�s Benevolent Association to a graduating John Jay High School senior.

Lucio plans to further his education at Johnson & Wales University.

All of us at Protection Engine Company No. 1 wish Lucio well with his upcoming studies.

Picture: Lucio receives his check from Benevolent Treasurer Pete Phillips as Benevolent President Rad Wilson and members of the Board of Directors look on.

Editors Note: For further information on the C. Milton Wolfe Scholarship, go to the Community Section of this web-site and read the scholarship summary.