Croton Fire Patrol Co. No. 1

RESCUE 18

Station #3 - Harmon Firehouse

Organized 1934

30 Wayne Street, Croton-on-Hudson, NY 10520

Telephone: (914) 271-2185

Email: firepatrolrescue18@gmail.com

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Our current 2015 Spartan/ Rescue1 Mfg Heavy Rescue Apparatus and our retired 1963 Mack/ Gerstenslager Heavy Rescue

Croton Fire Patrol Co. No.1 was the last of the five fire companies in the Croton Fire Department to be organized. The company's origins are found in several incidents leading up to 1934 where the department was operating at an incident scene and had issues controlling the onlookers and controlling traffic. The department's Fire Council decided to create a dedicated fire company to handle this task, with members to be sworn "Fire Police" officers. Fire Police officers are sworn peace officers under New York State law, giving them the legal authority to control traffic and fire scenes. The first members were five volunteers from each of the then existing four fire companies, giving the company 20 founding members.

As time went on, additional duties were added to the members of Fire Patrol. The fire company's role was expanded to include specialized rescue equipment for motor vehicle accidents, water incidents and incidents where ropes might be necessary to rescue a victim. In addition, the department bought an ambulance in the early 1950s and Fire Patrol responded to all medical emergencies in the village or outer fire protection districts in the adjoining unincorporated areas of the Town of Cortlandt. In 2008 all emergency medical duties were spun off into a new, separate village agency, Croton EMS.

Our members respond in our heavy rescue truck, Rescue 18. This fire apparatus does not have a pump or hose for fires, but instead carries all of the specialized equipment for these various types of incidents. Rescue 18 is a custom built 2015 Spartan MetroStar series cab and chassis with a custom built walk-around type heavy rescue body. It has seating for 6 firefighters, five of those seats have ready-to-go Scott Self Contained Breathing Apparatus packs (SCBA for short, but popularly referred to as Airpacks), with a sixth airpack in a compartment for the driver. The SCBA allows our members to enter into a dangerous atmosphere, such as smoke and be able to safely breathe for up to 45 minutes. The body of the truck has numerous compartments to store all of the equipment, as well as stairs to additional storage compartments up top. The apparatus is equipped with an onboard electric generator and tower light that can extend 16 feet above the apparatus and provide extremely bright scene lighting for the department's operations, no matter the time of day or weather. Rescue 18 is equipped with two sets of the Hurst extrication tools, popularly known as the "Jaws of Life". These powerful hydraulic tools allow our members to pry and cut open any vehicle after a crash, in which victims are still trapped inside. In many ways, Rescue 18 is the Croton Fire Department's "rolling toolbox".

Today, members of Croton Fire Patrol Co. No.1 are still 100% volunteers. We respond to many different types of incidents, including fires, motor vehicle accidents, water incidents (Hudson River, Croton River, Croton Reservoir and the many lakes in the area), rope rescues, railroad accidents, traffic control, carbon-monoxide incidents, natural gas leaks and hazardous materials incidents. Our members respond to incidents 24/7/365, dropping whatever they're doing, to provide aid to their neighbors. Members do not have to respond if they are unavailable, such as if they're at work or school. Members are only asked to respond to a minimum of 5% of the department's calls per year, though many choose to respond to many more than that.

Any resident of the Village of Croton-on-Hudson or the Town of Cortlandt, who is a legal resident and over the age of 18, can join our fire company. We will provide all necessary equipment and training. New York State certification training occurs at the Westchester County Fire Training Center in nearby Valhalla, NY. If you are interested in joining the department, contact us via email, phone, social media or drop by our firehouse on any Monday evening between 7 and 8PM. Our firehouse, Station #3, is located in the Harmon area of Croton, right off the intersection of Benedict Boulevard and South Riverside Avenue. We share this building with Harmon Engine Co. #3 and the two ambulances of Croton EMS (Croton EMS offices are located next door at 44 Wayne Street).

For anyone who is between the ages of 14 and 17, they can join the department's youth corps Explorer Post, with their parent's permission.

More information on this program can be found here: CFD Explorer Post

(Left) Members conducting weekly inspection of all equipment at a weekly Monday night rig check.

(Right) CFD members training on rollover Motor Vehicle Accidents (MVAs)

2024 Line Officers

2024 Social Officers

The current Rescue 18, a 2015 Spartan/ Rescue1 Mfg Heavy Rescue.

Previous Rescue 18, 1993 International/ Cayel Craft Heavy Rescue

Our third rescue truck, the first Rescue 18, a 1963 Mack C/ Gerstenslager Heavy Rescue

Our fire company's second apparatus, a 1936 Diamond T Rescue truck