New City Fire Engine Co. No. 1

Dear friends and neighbors, As some of you may have seen, we have participated in several fire truck drive-bys during the last several weeks of this pandemic, typically for a birthday parade or anniversary. As word of this has spread however, we have been inundated with requests to participate in many more. As we are a 100% volunteer organization, every request that comes in requires us to seek members willing to come and man apparatus and upon returning to the firehouse, ...go through the process to disinfect any apparatus that was used which creates an undue burden on our membership. In addition to the time needed to perform these tasks, every request places our members at risk of an exposure during this pandemic. Because of this, we will no longer be accepting requests to participate in these types of non-essential events. We hope you understand. Thank you.

We’d like to thank two separate organizations - the Emergency Mask Squad and the Masked Warriors Project- for their recent donations of 40 and 80 cloth masks, respectively, to our department. These hand made cloth masks, assembled by community volunteers, will be used to keep our firefighters safe as we continue to serve our neighbors during the Covid-19 outbreak. In the first and second photos, Chief Kunz accepts the first donation of 40 masks from Jenn of the Emergency Ma...sk Squad. The second photo list the names of the incredible people involved in their donation. In the other photos, Lt. Dorfman holds the bag of 80 handmade masks, along with the note from the Masked Warriors Project. Thank you to these organizations for their gift, it’s greatly appreciated!

It is with deep regret that we announce the death of 55 year life member, Harold "Harry" Heuffel. Harry, 79 at the time of his passing, joined the fire company in November of 1965 and had been a fixture in the department. Known most notably for his ability to pull no punches and tell it like it is, Harry always put the fire company first, extolling the rules - both written and unwritten - to new members in an effort to keep us on the straight and narrow and to do things the "...right way". Harry was a long time company trustee, helping guide the business side of the department for many years. Harry was also heavily involved in the major construction of our current firehouse in the 90's. In his personal life, Harry was also a United States Navy veteran, and a World War 2 history buff, often found watching old war movies down at the firehouse. Please join us in sending our condolences to his son Tom, also a member of the department, and the rest of Harry's family as they go through this difficult time. Rest easy, Harry.

Earlier this afternoon, we operated at a working fire in South Mountain Road. Thanks to our mutual aid companies that came in to give us a hand. At this time, there are no reports of any injuries. Photos courtesy of 44-1, Chris Kear @rocklandfires @rocklandreport @rocklandcountychiefs @rocklandfirebuffs @rcvfa @nysafc @fasny

The New City Fire Engine Company No. 1 annual fund drive is underway and residents of the fire district should be receiving a letter in the mail in the very near future. This year’s campaign we have added an option for online donations as well as providing information regarding any disabled person(s) in your residence. Simply click on the link to go to our webpage - www.newcityfire.org The donation button is on the top right of the homepage. Disabled person information form can be accessed by clicking on the Contact Us link. You can view our official letter posted below. As always, thank you for you continued support of The New City Fire Engine Company No. 1.

We'd like to acknowledge the actions of some of our Brothers "across the pond" in Congers. Job well done and a life saved.

Rest in Peace, George. You will be missed. Thank you for all you have done for us over the years.

Yesterday, we held our annual Installation of Officers and Awards Ceremony at the firehouse to celebrate as our officers have moved up the line to serve. Family, friends and guests in attendance helped make the event a success. Thank you to our speaker, Gordon Wren, for giving the keynote speech and to our own Tom McGrath for organizing and emceeing the event. Below is the list of officers for 2020 and a list of the award recipients. Congratulations! A full gallery of pho...tos can be seen here - https://kennyflynnphoto.smugmug.com//1-19-20-New-City-FD-I 2020 LINE OFFICERS Chief Tim Kunz 1st Asst. Chief Rich Willows, Sr. 2nd Asst. Chief John Pawelczyk Captain Brendan Wren 1st Lt. Matt Murphy 2nd Lt. Steve Dorfman Chief Engineer Ron Green Assistant Chief Engineers Kenneth Louden Eric Zweigbaum Jeff Chambrovich, Jr. Alan Handsman Deputy Chiefs Andy Lawrence Artie Kunz, Jr. Kenny Flynn ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS President Dennis Henion Vice President Mike Soprano Recording Secretary Matt DeGennaro Treasurer John Bennett Asst. Treasurer Victor Caraballo Sergeant At Arms Kevin Downey Trustees John McSharar Tim Woolley Chris Treacy Chris Serra Kevin Danahy AWARD RECIPIENTS Company Service Award John Coyle, Jr. Most Drills Award Ronald Green Responder Award Jake Dorfman Arthur Kunz Kenneth Louden Thomas Henion Nelvin Thomas Sean Treacy Alan Handsman Luke Brennan Dennis J. Roberts Ronald Green Top Responder Award Christian Spanos Department Medal of Honor Thomas Gerlich Firefighter of the Year Award Ronald Green

Services for Alfred R. Hopper, Sr., our longest serving member at the time of his passing, have been set. As we stated in our earlier post, Al was a 76 year member, joining in March of 1944. He became a life member in 1969. During his time in, Al earned the rank of 2nd Lieutenant in 1952 and 1953. Al was actually the first person to achieve that position, as it was created that year. He also became 1st Lieutenant in 1954. He served on countless committees over the years, len...ding a hand to organizing several fire company events. In the photo above, Al is seen riding in the 1936 Chevrolet 9-250 during our 2013 125th Anniversary Parade down Main Street. His commitment and years of service to the fire company - and the citizens of New City - will be sorely missed. There will be a wake at Higgins Funeral Home in New City on Thursday, January 16th from 2-4 pm and from 7-9 pm. A firematic service will be held to honor Al’s service to his community at 8 pm. On Friday, January 17th, there will be a final service for Al at Higgins starting at 10 am, followed by his final drive past the firehouse. He will then be taken to Germonds Cemetery in New City for burial. Please keep Al’s family in your thoughts as we say our final goodbye.