Cottekill Volunteer Fire Company

 

July 11th 1930 – Community members from both Binnewater and Cottekill organized a fire company for the preservation and protection of property from and during such fires that may occur within the hamlets. To no surprise this newly formed organization was known as the Binnewater-Cottekill Volunteer Fire Company. The company would meet in the Cottekill School house which was located on Sawdust Avenue. Ironically this building would be lost to fire in the 1970’s

February 1932 – The men of Cottekill held a meeting in the Cottekill train depot to discuss the separating from the B&C and form their own fire company. It was a unanimous vote.

March 2nd, 1932 – The Cottekill Volunteer Fire Company is officially organized with 30 founding members present. Without a place to call home, they would continue to meet in the train station while securing property and building materials.

1932 – A lease between the Ontario-Western Rail Road and the Fire Company is signed for the property adjacent to the train station. The lease was set for the amount of $1.00 a year indefinitely. Well not quite. In 1942 the Fire Company purchases the property from the O&WRR for one more dollar.

September 1932 – The construction of the firehouse is complete and the members have a place of their own. The firehouse was a 30’ x 40’ wooden structure. It was a place to hold their meetings and hold special events such as card parties and dances. That original building still stands today and is the garage area for the fire trucks, known as the engine bay.

April 26th, 1933 – The first fire truck. The company purchased a used Ford fire truck called a chemical truck. It had two 40 gallon chemical tanks, 200 feet of hose, a 24 foot and a 35 foot extension ladder, a search light, and other incidental tools. Chemical trucks did not have a fire pump to push water through the hose. Instead firefighters would mix sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sulfuric acid, in the chemical tanks, to form Carbon Dioxide (CO2) gas. The CO2 would build up pressure in the tanks and forced the water through the hose.

We are still attempting to get more information about this truck from the previous owners, the Guilderland Center Fire Department, in Albany County.

 

Snyder Feed Mill - July, 1941

 

Cottekill School House -

 

Cottekill Tavern - February 17, 1981