| On the evening of
September 8, 1869, forty-nine townsmen met in the Warwick
Brass Band rooms (later Parking Plumbing) for the purpose of
forming a fire company. Mr. W.H. Knapp was elected chairman of
the meeting and Mr. J. W. McElroy, secretary. The following
were duly elected as officers J.G. Knapp, Foreman: W.H. Knapp,
1st Assistant Foreman: Lewis Fritz, 2nd Assistant Forman: J.H.
McElroy, Secretary, and J.H. Van Duzer, Treasurer. The name
chosen for the company was Warwick Valley Engine Co.
A special
meeting of the company was held September 3, 1869 for the
purpose of changing the name of the company. Excelsior Fire
Engine Co. No. 1 was chosen. At the November 7, 1971 meeting
the name was again officially changed to the Excelsior Hose
Company No 1 of Warwick. Officers of the newly-organized
company were then elected: Mr. J.W. McElroy, secretary. The
following were duly elected as officers: J.G. Knapp, Foreman:
J.H. Holly, 1st Assistant Foremen: R. J. Rutan, 2nd Assistant
Foreman: C.E. Tolhurst, Secretary and J.H. Van Duzer,
Treasurer.
The
company’s first meetings were held in Firemen’s Hall until
January 1, 1887. Chief Ira S. Smith and several other members
appeared before the Village Board of Trustees, requesting a
more suitable location to hold their meetings and house their
equipment. The request was put to a vote, and on March 6,
1886, a parcel of land on High Street was purchased from
Thomas Burt for $750. The total cost of the land and building
was $3.525. The
company’s first piece of equipment was a secondhand hand
pumper (called the Man Killer), which, with the completion of
water mains was replaced by hand-draw hose carts steered by a
couple of firemen. The first piece of motorized equipment, a
Robinson truck, was acquired in 1916 for $7,000, allowing the
company to afford protection to property within a radius of
ten miles from the village (with assistance from the Raymond
Hose Company No. 2 and the Goodwill Hook and Ladder Company
No. 1). Eighteen years later, a new Maxim truck was purchased
for $12, 500. This truck was in turn traded in on the new Mack
truck in 1948 at a cost of $13, 500. The company purchased a
Maxim in 1965 and today owns a 1988 Mack truck. |
