History

     In the fall of 1887 a body of men became interested in the formation of a hook and ladder company. On September 26, 1887, the first meeting was held at the town hall of the Village of Matteawan and Beacon's third company was organized. At a meeting on January 4, 1888, the company was named in honor of Willard H. Mase.

     Between 1887 and 1894 the company existed without any official apparatus. During that time the company utilized some ladders that were bought and stored in an empty store. In 1895, the village board of trustees bought the hooks a gig with wheels so that they could wheel the ladders to fires. Willard H. Mase volunteered to erect a bell on his building, Mase’s Hat Shop, which was used to sound the alarm for the hooks in case of a fire. This bell is still in Beacon in the belfry of Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church on South Avenue.

     On January 4, 1897, the hooks moved into their first quarters at the corner of Main Street and Schenck Avenue. Settled in their new home, they laid plans for a purchase of a hook and ladder truck to be drawn by horse. On February 14, 1898, this truck was finely obtained.

     It was hoped that someday a new home for Mase could be built on an empty lot across Main Street. In 1911, the village board and taxpayers built the firehouse that currently serves the company. Four years later the City of Beacon purchased the companies first motorized hook and ladder truck, which remained in service for 25 years. In 1940 a new truck was purchased, the quad. This was replaced in 1962 by a superb piece of equipment with an 85-foot extension ladder, which made the company one of the best equipped in the Hudson Valley at the time. In 1986, the company purchased a 105-foot Pierce Ladder. Currently serving the city is a 2005 American LaFrance 100-foot tower ladder.

Apparatus
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		1986 Pierce 105 Feet Rear-Mont Aerial Ladder	1962 Mack 85 Feet Mid-Mount Aerial Ladder
1940 Quad Ladder Truck	1915 Motorized Ladder Truck	1898 Horse-Drawn Ladder Cart	1886 Hand-Drawn Ladder Cart

Pictures
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