Millerton’s Fire Company exemplifies long history of community volunteerism

MILLERTON — Millerton’s volunteer fire department has been battling blazes in the area for more than 130 years, charting a history of heroism in the village that began with a failed attempt to save a prominent hotel in 1891.

North East Fire District Commissioner Dave Vandebogart, who serves as the fire company’s historian, is himself a third-generation member of the Millerton Fire Company. He said Millerton’s rapid growth after the arrival of the railroad spurred the need for an organized fire department.

At the time, building codes didn’t exist and materials were much more flammable. Densely populated communities like the newly-formed Millerton could face devastation if a fire broke out and spread through the community.

That fear materialized in January 1891, Vandebogart said, when the Millerton Hotel near the intersection of John Street and Center Street caught fire. Village residents banded together with buckets to try to douse the flames, but the effort wasn’t enough to save the building. The incident highlighted a need for an organized fire company with proper firefighting equipment.

Calls for a fire department grew over the course of 1891, strengthening support for a common water works system for the village that would be necessary for a proper municipal firefighting force.

The fire company officially formed in January 1892, after village trustees met at the Millerton National Bank and voted to create a local fire company. Trustees later elected to name the company the E.H. Thompson Hose Company in honor of the bank’s president, who provided the venue for the trustees’ early meetings.

The newly-formed hose company soon purchased a horse-drawn hose cart, complete with a 500-foot hose, wrenches and 28 pails for carrying water. An additional horse driven cart carried nine ladders.

In the 1890s, only Fire Chief Mintline Morgan and his Assistant Chief wore helmets or uniforms. Regular company members wouldn’t get their own hats and uniforms until 1901.

The fire company’s first official home was a building that still stands at the corner of Dutchess Avenue and Century Boulevard in Millerton, neighboring the building that houses EcoBuilders and Moore & Moore Printing. That building was built in 1902 and named the E.H. Thompson Fire House to further honor the Millerton National Bank’s president.

Firefighters would continue to battle blazes with the horse-drawn hose cart for another 20 years until the company purchased the Brockway fire engine in 1922. The truck, described as a “chemical apparatus” in a 2017 recounting of the fire company’s history written by Vandebogart, was used for 25 years and then sold in 1948 for $100.

The 1920s were a time of change for the fire company. Company leaders and village officials voted to drop E.H. Thompson’s name in favor of the modern “Millerton Fire Company” moniker in 1924, to reflect the company’s presence in Millerton and recent access to modern firefighting technology like motorized trucks and pumps.

Millerton’s fire department slowly grew, expanding its equipment collection until a new firehouse was necessary and constructed in 1962. That building on Century Boulevard still serves as the company’s main firehouse today and is currently undergoing renovations to its exterior.

Firefighters have had to man the firehouse 24/7 on multiple occasions during the village’s history — including in 1969 when a massive snowstorm shut down Route 22 for two days and two nights.

People crowded local churches and the firehouse for a warm place to stay as the snowstorm stranded travelers and forced some locals out of their homes. Everyone was stuck until large snow blowers arrived from Poughkeepsie to clear Route 22.

That snowstorm is just one of the many catastrophes that Millerton firefighters have responded to. Vandebogart described a fire at Suburban Propane in 1965 that set a record for the largest response to a fire in Dutchess County History.

“That was three days and three nights,” Vandebogart said. He said the fire started when a propane tanker truck’s brakes failed, causing it to roll into a storage tank at the Millerton propane facility and explode.

Firefighters responded to the explosion quickly, dousing nearby propane tanks with water to keep temperatures down and prevent further explosions while simultaneously dousing active flames.

“I was five years old at the time,” Vandebogart said. “I remember looking out the back door at one of the explosions that had just taken place.”

That record stood until Jan. 1, 1996, when a fire at Polytech Corporation in Dover, New York, triggered a larger response.

Over the past 34 years, the fire company has expanded to a brand new garage across Century Boulevard from the current firehouse.

But Vandebogart said the fire company faces more profound challenges than just fighting fires. Changing demographics in the area and increased training standards have created challenges for the volunteer organization.

“Everything is modeled for career,” Vandebogart said, highlighting a shift over recent decades toward professional emergency medical services and firefighters nationwide. As that shift has occurred, safety standards and training requirements have risen across the board, placing a larger burden on volunteers.

“When I started in 1986 we had the ‘Essentials of Firemanship,’” Vandebogart said. “It was 39 hours and you learned a lot.” Today, firefighters are required to complete more than 100 hours of training and education to qualify for service.

Another challenge is attracting new members. In 2017, the Millerton Fire Company ran a program known as “Explorers,” which allowed teenagers from 14 and up to participate in volunteer work at the firehouse.

But that program folded due to staffing issues, and the North East Fire District Board of Commissioners has proposed a policy limiting volunteer participation to those no younger than 16 at its regular meeting on Tuesday, April 21.

Vandebogart said rising cost of living in the region further exacerbates recruitment challenges. As costs increase, younger generations of Millertonians have become less likely to stay in the community to build a life.

“Membership kind of ebbs and flows,” Vandebogart said. “It is hard to keep young people around here.”

Looking toward the future, Vandebogart said the fire company hopes to avoid having to transition to professional firefighting for as long as possible.

“We’re just trying to keep it volunteer,” Vandebogart said.