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History Of the three
companies in Beacon the first was Beacon Engine Company. It was organized
in the Village of Matteawan on October 5, 1886. Its name was selected in
honor of the famous mountain,
 Beacon. The eleven founding and charter
members of the company were led by Jacob F. Weinstein, who was Beacon
Engine’s first foreman and presiding officer, a post he held until 1895.
An old hand engine, formerly owned by the disbanded Protection Engine
Company, was the original apparatus used by Beacon Engine.
Later, when a
water supply and hydrants were furnished by the village, better
firefighting equipment was acquired. On October 20, 1904, the company
received a new chemical and hose wagon. 1912 saw the company in need of an
"auto" engine and thus purchased a 1912 Webb pumper, believed to be the
first motorized fire engine in the county. A Seagrave was purchased in
1924, and again in the years of 1947 and 1967 new apparatus were
purchased. In 1986, a 1986 Pierce Arrow Pumper with a 1500GPM pump was purchased. Currently serving the city is a
2005 American LaFrance Eagle Pumper.
The Beacon Engine
firehouse, located on the site of the old frame structure initially used
as headquarters, is one of the finest in the Hudson Valley. The present
building was erected in the fall of 1889, and in 1924 a new section was
added to house the newly acquired apparatus.
Beacon Engine’s
first fire occurred on January 15, 1887, in the rectory of Saint Luke’s
Church. At the time, the company only had forty feet of hose. However, as
there was much snow on the ground, the firefighters concentrated their
energies in extinguishing the fire with snow. Since that time it has been
referred to as the fire extinguished with snowballs.
Beacon Engine
Company has done much to better the community in addition to firefighting
fires. In 1941, the company staged the communities first soapbox derby.
Since then, it has worked with the youth of the city through many local
organizations. In recent years, Beacon Engine was the sponsor of the
Beacon Volunteer Ambulance Corp.
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