New Paltz Fire Department
September 16, 1861 is the date that the first fire department in New Paltz was organized. It was called Huguenot Fire Engine Company No. 1. The fire engine was a hand drawn and hand operated pump purchased from the City of Poughkeepsie. Huguenot Fire Engine Company was disbanded around 1868.
The village was without fire protection until the Ulster Hook and Ladder Company No.1 was organized on July 1, 1889. Their equipment was housed in a building on lower Main Street until 1890 when it was moved to the corner of Church and North Front Streets, and finally in 1893 was moved into the flatiron building at Church and Main. When the water works was completed in 1892 this bucket company was supplemented by the Star Hose Company.
These two units served the community, often with keen rivalry, until they were united into the present New Paltz Fire Department in 1918.
The municipal building on Plattekill Avenue was opened on July 4, 1950 and has served as the firehouse since. At present, the department houses four of its nine-piece apparatus fleet there. The other are housed temporarily at the DPW garage at the water treatment plant while the new fire station is being built at the corner of Henry W Dubois Dr. and North Putt Corners Rd. The New Paltz Fire Department currently operates 2 Engines, 1 Rescue Pumper, 1 Supply Pumper, 1 Tanker, 1 Brush/Fire Police Truck, 1 Rescue Boat, 1 Utility Off-road Vehicle and the pride of the fleet, the 100 foot platform ladder truck.
Currently the department is 100% volunteer with a Chief, two Assistant Chiefs, 1 Captain, and 2 Lieutenants. The department currently runs about 650 fire calls per year, and does not provide EMS. Our district includes the State University of New York at New Paltz, a 20 mile portion of the New York State Thruway, the Village of New Paltz and the Town of New Paltz. We provide mutual aid when requested to our neighboring departments.
The members of the New Paltz Fire Department are proud of our history and pledge to continue our services to the community.
