A Short Chronology of the Briarcliff Manor Fire Department - Notebook Vol. 2020-1
by Mike Bassett Volunteer Fireman
EDITORS NOTE: For one hundred and seventeen years the residents of our village have depended on these dedicated volunteers to keep us and our property safe. During the current pandemic, the members of the Briarcliff Manor Fire Department and Ambulance Corps have continued to risk their lives to serve the members of our community.
Thank you.
The Trustees and Members of the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society
Figure 1: Hose Cart at Archville Firehouse. Photo BMSHS Collection
Currently the Briarcliff Manor Fire Department is organized into three fire companies, the ambulance corps, and the fire police who deal with traffic and crowd control. The fire council acts as the governing body of the Fire Department and is the liaison between the department and the Village. There are two firehouses: the Municipal Building and the Scarborough Firehouse on Scarborough Road. Each year the Briarcliff Manor Fire Department responds to around 600 fires and 800 ambulance calls.
1901
Several men led by Fred Messinger held meetings and began the formal process of forming a private fire company. The first firefighting equipment was a hose cart pulled by the fireman like the one shown below.
1902
The new fire company was named the Briarcliff Steamer Company No.1 with 36 charter members and dues of 25 cents a month. The Steamer Company was loaned a horse drawn steamer engine and a chemical wagon by Walter Law which was stored in Barn A of the Briarcliff Dairy Farm on Dalmeny Road in the area of St. Theresa’s School. The steamer engine used a fire to heat water to produce steam to drive a pump to shoot water onto the fire. The chemical wagon used a mixture of water, sodium bicarbonate, and sulfuric acid to produce carbon dioxide gas to force out the liquid and extinguish the fire.
Figure 2: Fred Messinger ca 1914. Photo BMSHS Collection
1903
The Village Board adopted the following resolution: “whereas, in the opinion of the Board of Trustees, the interest of the Steamer Company can best be served by being under the control of the village authorities, it is therefore resolved, that the Briarcliff Steamer Company No. 1 be taken under the jurisdiction of the village board, subject to the fire commissioners, the services of its present members to date from Jan. 1, 1903.”
1906
The Village of Briarcliff Manor Board of Trustees felt it was in the best interest of the Village and the department to reorganize the department creating a new company to be known as the Briarcliff Fire Company.
1910
The first fire hydrants were installed in the Village. Before this water had to be carried to the fire on the fire truck or pumped from streams and ponds. A lack of sufficient water would play a part in many fires for years to come.
1911
The Village approved joining a mutual aid compact with Fire Departments of other villages to help each other when it is needed. This still is an important part of the fire service.
1913
The fire shown below occurred at Barn A on Walter Law’s Dairy Farm located on Dalmeny Road. Barn A was used to house the department’s firefighting equipment, so the first order of business was to remove those from the burning building.
Figure 3: Horse Drawn Fire Engine ca 1908. Photo A Century of Volunteer Service
1914
The first motorized apparatus was placed in service and the Fire Department moved into its quarters in the new municipal building on Pleasantville Road. Local lore says that the Briarcliff Manor Fire Department tradition of painting fire equipment white instead of red started with Fred Messinger who thought it would be more visible. Another version claims the color honored Walter Law’s diary trucks. Substations with hose carts and hose were set up to reduce travel time to fires in Mrs. Whitson’s Barn on Pleasantville Road, between Route 9A and the entrance to the Taconic Parkway, and in a carriage shed on the Holden Farm on Scarborough Road across from the current Scarborough Firehouse.
1929 -1930
The Scarborough Fire Company was formed to allow the Archville Fire Company which served the Archville section of Mt Pleasant along Route 9 to join the Briarcliff Manor Fire Department to service the Hamlet of Scarborough which is part of the Village of Briarcliff Manor. The new company operated out of two firehouses: the Archville Firehouse on Route 9 and a garage rented from the Scarborough Presbyterian Church. One notable fire that year was at the residence on Sleepy Hollow Road of Anna Roosevelt Dahl, daughter of Governor and future President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Figure 4: Fire at Barn A 1913. Photo BMSHS Collection
1933
The Ladies Auxiliary was formed which became an integral part of the department helping to raise money and providing fire fighters with food and drink at fire scenes.
1936
There was a special meeting between the Village Board and the Fire Department to create a third company in the Village the Briarcliff Hook, Ladder, and Rescue Company.
1943
The war effort took a toll on the membership of the department, and the Village agreed to allow 16 year old boys to join. One of the first nine boys approved by the Village Board was to become a lifelong volunteer firefighter and a President of the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society, William Sharman. The age limit was raised again in 1946. A fire occurred at the Allen House on South State Road with temperatures of -18F resulting in several firemen with frostbite and Chief Henderson with a case of pneumonia.
Figure 5: Firehouse and Municipal Building ca 1914. Photo BMSHS Collection
1945
The Fire Department responded to a fire in the barn at the Haymount Estate of Bernard Van Leer on Studio Hill Road, rescuing 18 horses and 4 elephants. Mr. Van Leer thanked the department and Village by hosting a performance of his Holland Classic Circus across from Law Park which raised money for an ambulance.
1947
The Fire Department expanded its services in the Village and received delivery of an ambulance to begin providing around the clock ambulance services.
1954
The Fire Department began its long lasting relationship with the Briarcliff Recreation Department and the Ragamuffin Parade.
1964
The Fire Department moved to its headquarters in the new municipal building on Pleasantville Road down the road from the original municipal building. The old municipal building and firehouse is now the Patio Restaurant.
Figure 6: Building believed to be the Scarborough Road Substation. Photo Matt Goldman 2014
1971- 1972
New York State ordered the separation of the Archville Fire District and the Briarcliff Fire District. The Scarborough Fire Company was dissolved and split into the Archville Fire Department to service Archville, and the Scarborough Engine Company to service the western part of the Village including Scarborough. The Scarborough Engine company was housed in a barn behind the Scarborough Presbyterian Church.
1975
The Scarborough Engine Company moved into its newly completed fire house on Scarborough Road.
1982
The Briarcliff Manor Fire Department fought a huge fire that gutted shops on Pleasantville Road in the business center of the Village on one of the coldest nights of the year. That same year, Rachel Higgins Leibacher and Debbie Connachio Johnson joined the department as our first female members.
1997
The Fire Department hosted the Annual Convention and Parade of the Westchester County Volunteer Firemen’s Association. This was to honor ex-chief William Kossow who was serving as the association’s President.
2001
The Fire Department sent an engine with a crew to assist New York City during the terrorist attack on NYC on 9/11.
Figure 7: Ladies Auxiliary. Photo: A Century of Volunteer Service
2002
The Fire Department held a parade to celebrate its 100th Anniversary which had been delayed by the events of 9/11.
2003
Despite the efforts of over 150 firefighters from several communities, a fire at the abandoned site of Kings College led to the destruction of what had been the historic, beautiful Briarcliff Lodge built by Walter W. Law in 1902..
As we near the end of the second decade of this century the department has and will continue to evolve with the changing times that we face. It has been harder to find members who can contribute the time that is required today with the longer training requirements. This has affected the ambulance service the most and the department has had to supplement local volunteers by hiring paid EMTs to be on duty. Providing 24/7 coverage requires three crews a day, seven days a week. The Fire Department has also created an Explorer Post to allow 14 – 16 year olds to join the department. The young members have proved helpful in several fires including the one at Kings College in 2003. One of our members, Jeff Bassett, would be later honored for rescuing a resident from a house fire on Apple Lane.
Figure 8: 1982 Downtown Fire. Photo A Century of Volunteer Service
As always, the BMSHS welcomes your comments. There is an excellent book, A Century of Volunteer Service: Briarcliff Manor Fire Department 1901-2001, written by members of the Fire Department, which is available in the local history section of the library. Additional information can also be found in the collection of the Briarcliff Manor-Scarborough Historical Society and on Wikipedia.
We invite everyone to come and stop by for a visit. The BMSHS is located in the lower level of the library next to the Recreation Department. Our offices are currently closed during the pandemic. Hopefully we will soon be able to resume our normal hours which are most weekdays from 10 am to 3 pm. We also invite you to submit questions, and topics for future Briarcliff Notebooks.
SOURCES
The Minutes of the Briarcliff Manor Village Board of Trustees
The Minutes of the Briarcliff Steamer Co No 1 compiled by Mike Bassett
The Minutes of the Briarcliff Engine Co compiled by Mike Bassett
A Century of Volunteer Service: Briarcliff Manor Fire Department 1901-2001, BMFD, 2001
Figure 9: Briarcliff Lodge Fire 2003. Photo L Reilly, M Molinelli
A Village Between Two Rivers
The Chronology of the History of Briarcliff Manor by Alex Vastola
Changing Landscape by Mary Cheever
Wikipedia: Briarcliff Manor, Archville