History

From a Bucket Brigade to a Village Fire Department

The Beginning — 1874–1875

In October 1874, a fire broke out on Banks Avenue in what was then a largely agricultural community. When the fire was discovered, a group of local men took pails from a nearby tin shop and formed a bucket brigade to Smith’s Pond. They eventually extinguished the fire, but not before the need for organized fire protection in Rockville Centre became painfully clear.

At the time, Rockville Centre had no fire company of its own. The community had endured more than two centuries without organized fire protection, and there were no fire companies along the South Shore between Freeport and Jamaica. When fire struck, residents largely had to rely on themselves.

On September 25, 1875, a group of young men gathered at the old Institute Hall on Village Avenue to change that. They organized Eureka Hook, Ladder & Bucket Company, establishing Rockville Centre’s first fire company and beginning a tradition of volunteer fire protection that continues today.

A Department Takes Shape — 1890–1894

By 1890, Rockville Centre was growing, and residents recognized the need for more modern firefighting equipment. On January 25 of that year, a group of concerned citizens organized Live Oak Engine Company and began raising funds for equipment that could make use of the fire wells located throughout the business district.

At about the same time, the members of Eureka contracted to purchase a No. 4 Button hand fire engine and other equipment. While awaiting its delivery, the two companies reached an agreement, and when the engine arrived in June 1890, it was sold to Live Oak.

Eureka and Live Oak, both quartered on Washington Street, initially operated at fires as separate organizations. But Rockville Centre itself was changing. Residents voted to incorporate as a village in July 1893, and the incorporation became official that October.

As the new Village began planning for its future, Eureka and Live Oak agreed that Rockville Centre’s fire protection should operate as a unified organization under one leader. In December 1893, the companies elected Benjamin Combes of Eureka to serve as Chief for the 1894 calendar year and began calling their organization the Rockville Centre Fire Department.

Growing With the Village — 1895–1912

As Rockville Centre continued to grow, so did its need for fire protection. In October 1895, the Village Board asked the Fire Department to organize a company south of the railroad tracks. Residents responded by holding the first meeting of Defender Hose Company No. 1 on South Centre Avenue. The following month, Alert Hose Company No. 2 was organized on Sunrise Highway; it would later become Alert Engine Company No. 2.

In April 1896, an internal dispute brought to light that the Village Board had never formally organized the Fire Department in accordance with New York State laws enacted in 1880 and 1886. Public concern followed, and within the next two months the Village Board took the necessary steps to formally establish the Department under those laws.

As development expanded into the northeastern portion of the Village, nine men came together in 1908 to organize Reliance Hose Company No. 3. Growth to the south soon created another need, and in 1912 Woodland Hose Company No. 4 was organized. The company would later become Woodland Engine Company No. 4.

By 1912, the organization that had begun with a single company in 1875 had grown into six volunteer fire companies, serving an expanding Rockville Centre.

A New Kind of Company — 1941

n 1941, the Rockville Centre Fire Department added a new type of organization to its ranks. Then-Chief Louis Ferrari appointed two members from each of the Department’s six existing companies to organize Floodlight Company No. 1.

The new company operated a 1941 Diamond T truck equipped with floodlights to illuminate fire scenes. The vehicle could also be used as an ambulance when needed, beginning a role that would expand considerably as the Department and the emergency services it provided continued to evolve.

Floodlight was originally quartered at the Defender Hose Company firehouse on South Centre Avenue. Its formation brought the Department to the seven fire companies that continue to serve Rockville Centre today.

From Pails to Modern Apparatus

The equipment available to Rockville Centre’s earliest firefighters would be almost unrecognizable today. Eureka’s first apparatus was a hand-pulled rig equipped with the basic tools of the era—hooks, ladders and buckets. With no municipal water system or hydrants, those early volunteers relied on the resources available to them and their neighbors.

As Rockville Centre developed, so did its fire protection. Water mains were constructed, horse-drawn apparatus replaced hand-pulled equipment, and eventually motorized fire apparatus arrived. Over the decades, advances in pumping equipment, aerial ladders, communications, protective equipment and emergency vehicles transformed the way the Department responded to emergencies.

What did not change was the foundation on which the Department was built: Rockville Centre residents volunteering their time to protect their neighbors.

Our Firehouses

As the Department grew, its companies established quarters throughout Rockville Centre so they could serve the expanding Village.

Today, Eureka Hook Ladder & Bucket Co. #1 and Live Oak Engine Co. #1 are quartered at 103 Maple Avenue. Defender Hose Co. #1 remains on South Centre Avenue, while Reliance Hose Co. #3 is located on North Forest Avenue.

Alert Engine Co. #2 and Floodlight Rescue Co. #1 are quartered at Fire Headquarters on North Centre Avenue.

Woodland Engine Co. #4 has a unique place in this history. Unlike the other company firehouses, which are owned by the Village, Woodland’s quarters on Driscoll Avenue have historically been owned by the company itself.

More Than 150 Years of Volunteer Service

What began with a fire on Banks Avenue and a group of residents carrying pails to Smith’s Pond grew into the Rockville Centre Fire Department of today.

The Department now consists of seven volunteer fire companies, whose members continue to respond to fires, rescues, medical emergencies and other calls for assistance throughout the Village. They are joined by the Fire Police Squad, whose members come from the seven fire companies and assist with traffic control, scene security and emergency apparatus access.

The Department’s tradition also continues through the Rockville Centre Junior Fire Department, where young people ages 13 through 17 learn firefighting skills, participate in drills and activities, and are introduced to the traditions of the volunteer fire service.

Rockville Centre’s firefighters also work alongside neighboring departments through mutual aid, continuing a tradition of cooperation that bears little resemblance to 1874, when meaningful firefighting assistance could be miles away.

Neighbors Protecting Neighbors

More than 150 years after Rockville Centre residents formed that bucket brigade on Banks Avenue, nearly everything about firefighting has changed. The pails and hand-pulled apparatus have given way to modern fire engines, aerial apparatus, rescue vehicles, ambulances, advanced equipment and extensive training.

But the principle behind the Rockville Centre Fire Department has endured.

Neighbors volunteering to protect neighbors.

From the first members of Eureka in 1875 to the men and women serving across Rockville Centre’s seven fire companies today, generations of volunteers have answered the call to protect their community. That tradition remains at the heart of the Rockville Centre Fire Department—and carries forward into its next chapter.