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On September 18, 1944,
at 8:00 P.M. a group of public citizens met at Willis King’s
home to discuss ways and means of making the community of
Southwood a better place to live. They called themselves the
“Southwood Taxpayers Association”. Their principle
objectives were to have a grammar school, a play ground, a
fire department, police protection, and other desired improvements.
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Past SFD Fire Chiefs |
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- William Strieff 1945-1948
- Harry Isham 1949-1951
- John Curtis 1952-1975
- Barry Lasky 1976-1978
- Jim Schad 1979-1981
- William Hopper 1982
- Gary Boisseau 1983
- Tony Barletta 1984, 1986 - 2002
- William Johnson 1985
- Michael Grosso 2003-2004
-Tom Bouvia 2005, 2008-2009
-Glenn Korec 2006-2007 |
On July 17, 1945 the Southwood
Volunteer Fire department was organized at a special meeting
of the Taxpayers Association and with the efforts of the Fire
Protection Committee and the chairman, Walter Giemza. The
first Fire Chief was William Strieff.
The first piece of equipment
was a tanker built by the firemen from an old 1935 Reo truck
body, also a tank was made by some members after work hours
at the San-Equipment Corporation. The tanker was completed
October 2, 1945 at a cost of under a thousand dollars.
The department covers approximately
a 1330 acre area. The largest fire in the district was at
the old Byrne farm on East Seneca Turnpike near the city line.
The fire started at 4:00 A.M. and was a complete loss.
The Southwood Ladies Auxiliary
was organized June 2, 1946. The first president was Thelma
Krickmire. The purpose of the auxiliary was to aid the firemen
in every way possible, to prevent fire by practicing and teaching
safety in the home, and to promote a spirit of neighborliness
and cooperation in the community. Throughout the years the
ladies have helped with fund raising activities and made generous
donations toward fire fighting equipment, building furniture,
the new building, the kitchen and numerous other needed improvements.
Their work has been greatly appreciated by the men along with
that good, hot cup of coffee and refreshments the auxiliary
serves on a cold night when there has been a tough fire to
fight.
The original fire station
was the first fire chief’s garage on Grace Place. The
alarm system consisted of a siren attached to the garage and
members of the community ran to the garage to ring the siren.
The first full time fire
house was built entirely by the members of the department
on 3 lots on Grace Place. One lot was donated by Mrs. Rose
of Rose real Estate, another was donated by the ladies auxiliary
and the third was purchased by the department.
When the department was
founded there was no available water for fire protection except
for individual wells. Tankers were used and filled from whatever
source they could find; Once in a while liberating a load
of water from the City of Syracuse from a hydrant by the old
goat farm. In 1959 a water system with hydrants was installed.
To fulfill their needs they immediately ordered a 1959 Ward-LaFrance
750 G.P.M. pumper.
By 1970, a new fire station
with 3 double bays, a drive through system, a meeting room,
and a kitchen were nearing completion.
In 1972 the department
purchased a truck with first aid and rescue equipment and
called it Southwood Rescue Truck No. 5. They also now had
a complete plectron warning system in each fireman’s
home, and each fireman had his own set of personal fire fighting
equipment.
Since then we have
experienced many highs and lows, and have been through many
transformations. We currently have 26 active firefighters,
along with 8 members of our Auxiliary, which we now call the
Southwood Support Team. We have three new trucks, some specialized
new equipment, and are being trained twice a month by professional
Fire Instructors. All of this we do to best support the Southwood
Community and its neighbors, anytime we are called upon.
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