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Early in 1900 control of the Fire
Department rested with the Board of Fire Commissioners elected by the
resident of the fire district. Dr. J. M. Foster was the first chairman and
Joe Koelbel, secretary. Joseph Felton and Louis Buck were also members of the
board.
This
Board of Fire Commissioners, recognizing the need for a hose company, purchased
a plot of land twenty-five feet wide running from Merrick Road through Lincoln
Ave. Bonds were floated for the erection of a firehouse for Nassau Hose
Co. No. 1. This was the first firehouse erected that wad paid for by the
Village.
Forty
men met with the Board of the Fire Commissioners on April 15, 1911 and, assisted
by firemen from Nassau Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1 organized and adopted the by-laws
of the newly formed Nassau Hose Co. No. 1. William Keller was elected
first Foreman, and Andrew Meier, assistant Foreman.
The
first hose wagon was small picturesque vehicle. It carried three
lanterns on each side, sufficient hose to quench any blaze in our area, and was
drawn by one horse. A hand pump was used to draw water from source to the
blaze until running water and fire hydrants were installed in the village.
The
disadvantages of horse-drawn wagon were the expense of keeping a horse and the
delay in getting him. However, both problems were eliminated by paying the
first man to get his horse harnessed to the wagon after the alarm sounded.
Rivals for the award money were John C. Hendrickson and Bert Combs. Both
had livery stables close to the fire house.
Nassau
Hose Co. No. 1 acquired its first motorized truck in 1917. It was a Seldon
Hose wagon which gave eleven years of good service. It retire in 1928 and
replaces by an American LaFrance Truck that was larger and could carry more hose
and equipment. It was also equipped with a pump that could deliver 750
gallons of water per minute.
In 1928
plans were being drawn to erect a Headquarters building for the Department.
The original site was on Merrick Road at Rockaway Parkway, but was later changed
to its present site on Oxford Street. and Rockaway Parkway. A year later
Nassau Hose Co. No. 1 moved to the brick quarters on Rockaway Parkway.
As the
years passed and the village grew, new and more modern apparatus and fire
fighting equipment replaced out-dated models. Among these vehicles was an
Ahrens Fox 1000 G.P.M. pumper in 1949. It was replaced in 1962 with a
Maxim 1000 G.P.M. pumper and still in service as a reserve piece of equipment.
