Company Profile: East Aurora

geegloff@aol.com

ea92_2000@yahoo.com

East Aurora FD covers North to Jamison Road's District, South to South Wales/West Falls, West to Orchard Park, and East to Wales Center.

East Aurora FD was organized in 1870. It consists of 4 companies East End Active Hose No. 5, Chemical Engine Company No. 1, Cazenovia Hose Company No. 1 & Pioneer Hook & Ladder No. 1. They respond to approximately 500 calls a year and have a High Angle Rescue Team. 

armorfirechief@gmail.com

armorepresident@gmail.com

During the Erie County Fair in August Armor mans a fire station at the fairgrounds near Gate 6 off McKinley Parkway on the South East corner of the fairgrounds.

The Armor Volunteer Fire company is located on the Eastern side of the Town of Hamburg, NY, that borders the Town of Orchard Park. We provide fire protection and emergency medical services to a mostly residential area that includes some commercial, light manufacturing and agricultural areas.

The Armor Volunteer Fire Company, as we know it today, originated with the Men's Club of Armor. This club was formed for social & civic betterment of the community. This club served the community as a civil defense unit during World War II. When the war was over they met to see what other ways they could help their community. They appointed a committee to investigate the possibility of starting a fire company for Armor. The Town of Hamburg agreed to the contract and a charter establishing the Armor Volunteer Fire Company was incorporated on May 5, 1944.

In 1945, Armor took its permanent home on Clark Street, then in 1964, the Fire Hall was replaced in a project that took over three years. 

chief@eggertsvillehose.com

president@eggertsvillehose.com

The Eggertsville Hose Company is the second oldest fire company in the town of Amherst and had its beginnings in 1906 in a corner meat market. A group of residents raised the then vast sum of $113.13 in just thirteen minutes at the old Sauter's Market at the corner of Main Street and Eggert Road. These residents met after two serious fires threatened the safety of the neighborhood. One blaze destroyed the home of Harry Flading on Callodine Avenue and the other leveled a haystack owned by John Chassin. A series of meetings on the fire protection problem resulted in the formation of the Eggertsville Hose Company. It would replace the bucket brigade, which had failed to save the Flading home.

     The Hose Company's first chief and president was Rudolph E. Boetger, town peace justice and president of the District 13 School Board. Boetger had been a member of the Cayuga Engine Company in Lancaster during the 1870's and 1880's. Boetger held the office of chief from 1908 to 1926 and the office of president from 1908 to 1909. At that time, he had the distinction of being the oldest active fire chief in New York State.

     From the very inception of the fire company, a ladies auxiliary flourished. Its efforts and contributions at picnics and social affairs aided and sustained the Company immensely. However, the coming of prohibition caused a rift between the Hose Company and the auxiliary. The ladies were 'dry' and the men 'wet.' The differences between the two could not be resolved and the Hose Company dissolved the ladies auxiliary.

     The firemen hosted parades and picnics each year to raise money and on May 8, 1908 the fire company was incorporated. A plot of land was then purchased at Main Street and Maynard Drive, and a frame building was soon erected by the membership who did all the work voluntarily with old railroad lumber.

     A spring wagon with fire equipment and hose became Eggertsville's first piece of apparatus. It was horse-drawn, usually by Bill Manning's horse, as he was the closest man available. Next came the acquisition of two six-foot hose reels carrying 1,000 feet of 2 1/2 inch hose. One reel was stationed at the corner of Main Street and Maynard Drive and the other at Callodine Avenue and Main Street. Both were hand-drawn rigs. The alarm system consisted of an iron railroad wheel with a gong that was suspended next to the station and was struck with a hammer to sound the alarm. Finally, the traditional red shirt and wide belt was adopted by the membership as the company uniform.

     Motorized fire departments soon became the norm and in 1924 the Hose Company purchased a four-wheel drive pumper. It was manufactured  in Clintonville Wisconsin and was paid for by donations and a $10,000 mortgage. During the same year the Exempt Firemen's Association and Eggertsville Hose Club was founded. The club, a source of fond memories, was then discontinued on July 4, 1965.

The Eggertsville Hose Company is a proud 100% all volunteer fire department serving the Western New York community of Eggertsville, located within the Town of Amherst just outside of Buffalo, NY. They are ISO class three certified, and protect a 2.2 square mile district containing residential and commercial structures. The district borders are south of Maple Road on the north end to the Town of Tonawanda and City of Buffalo on the west side, the Snyder Fire District on the east side,  and the City of Buffalo and a tiny bit of the Town of Cheektowaga on the south side.  Some of the more notable businesses in the district include the Boulevard Mall, the Amherst Theater, Brunner's Tavern and Bocce Club Pizza. In 2021 they had a total call volume of 1167 calls.

chief@twindistrict.com

president@twindistrict.com

4999 William Street 

Lancaster, New York 14086

716-681-3118

twindistrict.com

The Twin District Volunteer Fire Company began in the early 1940's when several men in the area reacted to the unsatisfactory performance of the South End Fire Company on Aurora Street. The South End Company had not been answering calls, and neighbors of the William and Aurora Streets community took steps to form their own company. Among the first members were Arthur Peters, Lester Moore, Albert Snyder, John Olsen, Joseph Hoerner, Norman Pfeil, Jerome Radamacher, Emery Cardinal, Walter Samulski and Norman Petri. These are the names of the original incorporation papers.
At their first official meeting, at the District Seven Schoolhouse on October 21, 1942, the members were warned that the Lancaster South End Fire Company would take action against the company for interfering. "If they wish to continue they will encounter trouble," was the warning sent to the founders. Despite this threat the members voted to carry out their plans.
The Lancaster Town Board did not get involved in the dispute, as it had no grounds for dissolving South End, or preventing the formation of Twin District. Nor was a merge feasible, as neither party desired that solutions.
The men continued to meet and discuss the future of their new fire hall. The meetings were held in Norm Petri's service station, on the corner of William and Aurora streets. The members voted for incorporation in 1942, and made arrangements with the Town of Lancaster to begin a fire company that would protect the area between Bowen road on the east, Transit road on the west, Hall road on the south and Como Park boulevard on the north. In that same year the first officers were elected, an account was opened at the Citizen's National Bank of Lancaster, and the members retained legal advisement. Listed in the minutes of the first meeting are the original officers: A. Radamacher, President; E. Cardinal, Vice President; W. Samulski and A. Gajewski, Secretaries; N. Petri, Treasurer.
The next main concern of the firemen was to secure land and build a firehouse. Three sites were considered. all of them located on William Street. Mr. Norm Petri, a Twin District fireman, offered to lease a portion of his land, Mr. John Jerge, also a fireman, proposed to donate one acre to the fire company, and Mr. Bippert offered the largest piece of land, but the terms of obtaining said land were unknown. Southeast Lancaster was farmland, and ost residents struggled to main tain a minimum standard of living. For obvious economical reasons, Mr. Jerge's generous donation was accepted.

Twin District sits at the southwest portion of the Town of Lancaster, New York. It's borders stretch roughly from Transit Road on the west, the Town of Elma on the south, Bowen Road on the east, and the Villages of Depew and Lancaster to the north. They service approximately 20,000 people within the 5.42 square miles of their district. The district continues to expand as businesses grow along Transit Road .  

Twin District has 60 active firefighters that responded to 870 runs last year. The department is mutual aid partners with almost 30 departments and they're the primary FAST for Alden, the southern part of Cheektowaga, Depew, East Aurora and Elma.  

In addition to their FAST Twin District is also big into Special Operations. They currently have an Ice Rescue team, Firefighter Rehab team and an Active Shooter Hostile Event Response (ASHER) team.