Warwick NY Fire Department Celebrates 150 Years of Service Firefighters

WARWICK, NY—For the past 150 years, the Warwick Fire Department has protected 72 square miles in and around Warwick.

On Saturday, the firefighters will march down the streets they protect in the 104th annual Orange County Volunteer Firemen's Association parade.

About 38 men assembled in 1869 to form the Excelsior Hose Co. in Warwick. The town itself had been incorporated a scant two years earlier. As the town and village grew, Goodwill Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1 was created in 1889 and Raymond Hose Co. No. 2 followed in 1896. Nearly a hundred years after it was first founded, the Warwick Fire Department added its fourth company: Engine Co. No. 3.

Excelsior and Goodwill share a firehouse on Church Street Extension, Raymond's firehouse is on West Street, and Engine Co. No. 3 is preparing to replace its firehouse with a state-of-the-art, larger structure on South Street Extension.

Last week, in between planning meetings and preparations for Saturday's enormous parade, department President Melissa Stevens and Secretary Deborah Schweikart discussed the history of the department and what firefighting means to them.

"The fire department is a 24/7 commitment; you give as much as you can," said Schweikart, who is Warwick's first female firefighter. "It's a commitment by you, and it's a commitment by your family, too."

"It's been my lifestyle, in fact, for the past 30 years," she continued. "Melissa's had that lifestyle all of her life."

Stevens practically grew up in the firehouse since her father, Wayne Stevens, had been a chief, fire commissioner and captain in the department.

A lot has changed over the years, especially in the way firefighters are notified of calls. The old iron fire rings that someone would strike with a hammer have given way to pagers and the Rover smartphone app, which alerts and relays information, Stevens said. Even the tried-and-true fire horn has been phased out.

What has not changed, however, is the constant need for volunteers. "People don't realize that none of us get paid for this," Schweikart said. "Warwick has never had paid firefighters.

"People volunteer for sports, and for schools, but I don't think it's drilled into them to volunteer as much for this particular volunteer service, which happens to be a necessity."

With 125 members, the strictly volunteer department saves taxpayers quite a bit, both Stevens and Schweikart said.

There's intensive training involved in firefighting, especially for the volunteers who fight fires inside structures. Volunteers can join as young as 16, but aren't permitted to undergo interior training until they are 18. Potential volunteers age 16 and older can visit any firehouse the first Tuesday evening of each month to join.

All of that training comes to the fore when a fire or car accident occurs. "We see life and death," Schweikart said, naming a fatal 2007 fire at Borderland Farm and a fire at the Dutch Reformed Church in 1977 as some of the worst that Warwick has fought. "If a call is particularly bad, we call in crisis counselors afterward. But, usually, we get together and just work through it."

Outside of firefighting, members do fun things like work on the annual fireman's carnival at Memorial Park and other fundraisers like a bowling night and the new designer bag bingo night. This year, they've been hard at work planning Saturday's parade. With 55 companies participating, it's no small task.

But sit in any firehouse throughout the town, and a certain feeling permeates. "We're a family, and as long as we can stay together as a family, we're OK," Schweikart said.

[email protected]

———

Visit The Times Herald-Record, Middletown, N.Y. at www.recordonline.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.