The first official meeting of the East End Volunteer Fire Company was held at 8 pm on September 24, 1926. The first Board of Directors were Charles Hemholtz, Joseph Pfost, Robert Caravello, Valentine Reiss, and Chester C. Morton. Ernest Hackwitz was made an honorary member. The second meeting brought the decision to be a uniformed company, but only for Company social affairs, parades, and funerals.
The department was born of necessity when the area would no longer be protected under contract by the Fire Department of the Incorporated Village of Farmingdale. The company is regulated by its bylaws, and provides the protection required under contract with the Town of Babylon. The original name was the "East End Volunteer Fire Company", but was changed in 1959 to the "East Farmingdale Volunteer Fire Company Inc."
At its inception, the Fire Company obtained from the First National Bank of Farmingdale a loan in the amount of $5,000 to erect a firehouse on Maplewood Avenue. At that time, the equipment consisted of one fire engine known as the "Hose Wagon". The first fire house on Maplewood Avenue had its first meeting on January 3, 1927.
From that first house, the Company expanded to a new headquarters on Conklin Street in 1938. The current fire house can house over twelve emergency vehicles, kitchen facilities, meeting hall, administrative offices, and a recreation room. In addition, there are now two substations and which contain additional emergency vehicles to help protect the district.
The fire district covers over 16 square miles, bordered on the West by the Nassau County line, on the North by the Town of Babylon and Town of Huntington lines, on the East by Straight Path and Little East Neck Road, and on the South by the Southern State Parkway and the Southern branch of the Long Island Railroad.
Sources:
East Farmingdale Volunteer Fire Department. A History of the East Farmingdale Fire Department 1926-1995. 199
“History.” History - East Farmingdale Vol. Fire Company, Inc., www.eastfarmingdalefd.org/page/history
Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 was organized in 1886 with twenty or thirty volunteers. Water Witch Engine & Hose Co. No 1 was organized April 19, 1889. In May of that year, the company began erecting the firehouse on Rose Street.
In 1892, the Water Witch and Hook and Ladder Company were joined to form the Farmingdale Fire Department. The Hook & Ladder Co. had its first firehouse on the north side of Conklin Street. The Water Witch’s first house was on Rose Street. In 1893, it was moved directly onto Main Street.
It was incorporated as Water Witch Engine & Hose Co. No. 1 in 1903. The fire district lines were set at this time. In the North was the Yoakum estate, West Farmingdale, Kibels Farm in the south and Tax Sheet #9 in the east.
In 1909, the Village acquired the local water plant for $23,000 from the Nassau Water Company to meet the needs of the fire department. In 1910, the Central Park Fire Department was organized and took over most of West Farmingdale. Prior to 1917, the engines were operated by illuminated gas. In 1917, the engines began being powered by steam, which lasted 20 years and then the engine power was followed by electric turbine pumps.
In the early 1920s, the Fire Department changed from its hand-drawn apparatus to motorized equipment. In 1926, the East Farmingdale Dire Department was organized and took over that area. In 1928, the Department was turned over to the Village. Both the Water Witch Engine Company and Engine and Hose Company sold all their property, buildings, and equipment for the sum of $1.00.
On October 7, 1931, the Company was taken under Village supervision. At this time. A three man Board of Fire Commissioners was formed to oversee operations and expenditures. In 1932, both fire departments moved to the Main Street building. In 1940, the First Aid Squad was organized. After fundraising, they were able to buy an ambulance in 1952. In the early 1960s, the Village changed the number from three to five.
In the 1950s, a fire police squad was established, manned by senior fire members. The members of this squad are sworn peace officers. In 1960, the South Farmingdale Fire Department was organized.
Sources:
Gibbs, Alonzo. Gibbs, Iris. (1968-12). Farmingdale. Long Island Forum, Volume XXXI, No. 12, 230
Junior Historical Society of Farmingdale. Farmingdale’s Story: Farms to Flight. Weldon E. Howitt High School, 1956
Notes from Ed Keck
Thomas J. Talbot 1892-1901
August Cusik 1901-1902
Adolph Bausch 1902-1903
Herbert Cobb 1903-1904
Henry J. Stienbuck 1904-1905
Stephen S. Jaisle 1905-1907
Samuel Langdon 1907-1910
Thomas J. Talbot 1910-1911
Percy L. Hall 1911-1913
Charles Ketcham 1913-1915
Mortimere Burton 1915-1916
Francis J. Leonard (H&L) 1915-1917
Daniel Chichester 1916-1917
Charles A. Post 1917-1918
Mahlon Smith 1918-1919
Christopher B. Beierling 1919-1921
Frank J. Talbot 1921-1923
Thomas O. Dunkerke 1923-1924
Fred Kloepfer 1924-1925
John P. Beierling 1925-1926
Alfred W. Parry 1926-1927
Norman F. Sullivan 1927-1928
Thomas Leonard 1928-1930
John B. Keck Sr. 1930-1931
John H. Kunz Sr. 1931-1932
John B. Turner 1932-1933
George W. Leonard 1933-1934
Gerard E. Scholl 1934-1935
William C. Loehrs 1935-1936
Howard S. Jaisle 1936-1937
William M. Lafferty 1937-1938
Alfred C. Scherer 1938-1939
Alfred J. Gutheil 1939-1940
Joseph P. Leonard 1940-1941
John E. Beierling 1941-1942
Charles Bocker 1942-1943
George Schnaderbeck 1943-1944
Joseph Posillico 1944-1945
Charles L. Lindros 1945-1946
Charles M. Schmidt 1946-1947
Alfred Seaman 1947-1948
August Martinelli 1948-1949
August Becker 1949-1950
Walter Finger 1950-1951
Charles L. Lindros 1951-1952
Joseph Brune Jr. 1952-1953
Ernest Becker 1953-1954
Hugh Newman Jr. 1954-1955
David Fehleisen 1955-1956
Wilbur Maul 1956-1957
Heinz Riedrich 1957-1958
Kenneth Scherer 1958-1959
Edmund Kck 1959-1960
Howard Scherr 1960-1961
Severio Orobona 1961-1962
Rocco Posillico Jr. 1962-1963
George Dillon Jr. 1963-1964
Ernest Knoell Jr. 1964-1965
Stanley Lowatsky 1965-1966
Robert Baldwin 1966-1967
William J. Sisco 1967-1968
Ray E. Ward 1968-1969
Donald F. Glascott 1969-1970
Charles M. Karp 1970-1971
Joseph M. Murphy 1971-1972
Carl Schlingloff 1972-1973
William P. Kenney 1973-1974
Richard Steenbuck 1974-1975
Joseph J. Schwietzer 1975-1976
Arthur Henrickson 1976-1977
Austin Purtill 1977-1978
Frederick H. Gerhard 1978-1979
William J. Merrins 1979-1980
W. Kevin Blais 1980-1981
Michael F. Kelly 1981-1982
George E. Kuck 1982-1983
William G. Pullaro 1983-1984
Kenneth A. Tortoso 1984-1985
Michael F. Kelly 1985-1987
Jack A. Scherer 1987-1989
Timothy M. Dillon 1989-1991
Jeffrey R. Dillon 1991-1993
Frank J. Romano 1993-1995
Michael J. O’Brien 1995-1997
Keith J. Ryan 1997-1999
Donald P. Tortoso 1999-2001
Scott L. Lorenzen 2001-2003
Richard L. Tortoso 2003-2005
John Salerno 2005-2007
Fred Shumeyer 2007
Jack Scherer 2007-2009
Keith J. Ryan 2009-2010
Kenneth A. Tortoso Jr. 2010-2011
Frank J. Romano 2011-2012
Patrick Tortoso 2014-2015
Keith J. Ryan 2016-2018
Ryan C. Tortoso 2018-2019
Michael DiBartolo 2019-2021
Walter E. Buser 2021-2022
Michael S. Tortoso 2022-2024
Sources:
Gary Hammond, Farmingdale Public Library
John Langon, Farmingdale Fire Department
NK 8/24
John Allen
William Allen
Edward Baldwin
Adolph Bausch
William Bolten
Louis Bynning
D. C. Duryea
George H. Fueschel
John Goslin
William Goslin
Ed Harrington
John R. Heinly
John Hendrickson
Alfred C. Ketcham
Charles Ketcham
Conklin Ketcham
H. Ketcham
Peter V. Ketcham
Albert Kramer
Gilbert E. Leonard
D. Mathison
William McCormick
John D. Meyer
John Miller
Humphrey Pike
John Plummer
R. J. Plummer
Edward Schnaderbeck
Thomas J. Talbot
John E. Turner
Alanson Van Cott
William Vooris
George Warner Sr.
J. P. Weeks
Philip Zink
NK 12/19/2024
The SFFD started operations January 1, 1961 by Alison Stewart who was their first Chief. It had four pieces of donated apparatus
In 1963, the department received three new front-line pieces of equipment. By 1965 another two pieces of new apparatus, a pumper and an ambulance. In August 1967, SFFD Station 2 opened for operations.
In 1971, the SFFD received a new a new pumper and a new flood light truck. By 1976, Engine CO 2 was formed adding another new pumper.
The old one-story firehouse was demolished in May 2006, making way for a new two-story expanded firehouse that opened for operations in March 2007.
Source:
“History of the South Farmingdale Fire Department .” South Farmingdale Fire District , 16 Mar. 2022, southfarmingdalefd.org/about/history/
Rudolph Dorn
George Heister
Gustavis Heiser
John Heiser
Edward Ketcham
Walter Kranz
Frederick Lafferty
William C. Loehrs
Anthony Orobona
John Ottis
William Post
Robert Vreeland
George Warner Jr.
NK 12/19/2024