A Brief History of Churchtown Fire Co. No. 1

In the year 1934 a group of men finalized their plans of forming a fire company in Churchtown. Their meetings were held in Raught’s General Store located in the center of the village.

Their first piece of fire equipment was a two wheeled soda and acid cart with a twenty gallon water tank which was pulled by hand.

In August of 1934, a 1922 Dodge truck was purchased and the soda and acid tank mounted on it. Later in the same year, Joseph Delehanty, a charter member, donated the use of a two-car garage for a firehouse and meeting hall.

In 1936, fire broke out in a dairy barn located at the rear of the firehouse. When the fire was finally out, the barn as well as the firehouse were completely in ruins. Shortly after the fire the members were given a building which they dismantled and rebuilt, this time on land owned by the fire company.

In 1939 the Ladies Auxiliary was organized, and helped in many ways to support the fire company, as it still does today.

In 1944 a 1927 Brockway was purchased from Greenport Fire Co. No. 1 and was used until 1953, at which time a new Internation-W.S. Darley, 500 g.p.m. pumper was purchased. The Brockway was then sold to the Onandaga Indian Reservation near Syracuse.

The annual convention and parade of the Columbia County Volunteer Firemen’s Association was held in Churchtown in 1954 when Richard Steinhoff, Sr. was the president of the association.

The fire company purchased its first tanker truck, a 1935 Ford with 800 gallon capacity, in 1958.

On January 11, 1959 at about 9:00 PM, fire was discovered in the upstairs rooms of the firehouse and with the help of the Claverack Fire Co., the truck rooms and the kitchen were saved. During the summer of that year, construction began on the present building.

During 1961 the Ford Tanker was sold and replaced with a 1952 G.M.C., 2,750 gal. tank truck.

A new four-wheel drive, Saulsbury International truck arrived during 1975; this was a 750 g.p.m. front mounted pump.

In 1979 a used 1970 Ford tanker was purchased with a capacity of 2,000 gallons.

During the year 1981, two and three quarter acres of land were purchased adjacent to the firehouse. A fine ball field and picnic grounds are located there.

In 1983, with Andrew Miller as president of the Columbia County Volunteer Firemen’s Association, Churchtown Fire Co. No. 1 hosted the association’s 58th annual convention and parade.

In 1992 the new truck room was dedicated, bringing the firehouse to the current configuration.

In 1995 the time came to replace the 1963 GMC pumper that had been purchased used to replace the 1953 International Pumper. In exploring our options, it was decided to replace the tanker at the same time, and a pair of KME trucks were purchased, a pumper and a tanker, both on International chassis.

In the early 1990’s the fire company decided to become a first responder company and several members became Certified First Responders. We then began to assist the local ambulance squads by responding to medical emergencies within our district. The brush truck and the emergency truck were outfitted with medical supplies and oxygen tanks so we could accomplish this all important function. In most years the majority of our calls are for medical emergencies.
In the early 2000’s, several renovations were made to the firehouse. The event hall and the kitchen were both remodeled and updated. New stoves were purchased, stainless steel counters put in the kitchen and the old paneling was removed from the hall. The hall was painted and a new ceiling installed, as well as the much needed installation of air conditioning.

Our next big update came in 2005, with the purchase of a new Wilde Fire Brush truck and Emergency truck/command center. It was about this same time that the decision was made to sell the Saulsbury 4 wheel drive pumper that was now 30 years old. Several years later a 1999 Chevrolet Suburban was purchased for use as an EMS and Fire Police vehicle.

In 2014 it was again time to invest in new primary trucks and after much thought and many meetings a new Toyne Pumper on a Spartan Custom chassis with a 1500 gallon per minute pump and 1500 gallons of water and a Toyne 3000 gallon tanker with a 1000 gallon per minute pump on an International chassis were purchased replacing the KME trucks.