Freeville Fire Department

By Jaxyn Boyce

For over 100 years, the Freeville Fire Department has served the community with outstanding service and dedication to protect all its members. It was first established and financed by Groton Bridge Co. Salesman, W.B. Strong, who sought to enroll in fire safety and prevention methods, in Freeville, where he resided. The company was incorporated in 1960 and is a five-generation, founding family and community operation. It started with the chief’s great-grandfather, grandfather, and father, but now continues with his brother, son, wife and cousin. With the dedication of many volunteers, these workers responded to over 400 fire and emergency medical service (EMS) calls last year.

They cover Freeville and offer mutual aid to; the town of Dryden, parts of Moravia, Locke, Cortlandville, Lansing, and the Brooktondale area. As part of their fire services these include; interior and exterior firefighters, wellness checks, extinguishing fires, roadway traffic control of powerline and tree removal, assisting police with traffic control like in a car accident, and flood assistance, and basement pumping. On the Emergency Medical Services side, they respond to calls and offer basic life support, using CPR and First Aid techniques. Currently, in inventory, they have one regular engine, one heavy rescue engine, one tanker, and one light rescue truck. 

Many of the firefighters have certification in interior and exterior fire courses. They also have to be First Aid and CPR trained. A few members have additional training like; leadership incident command, wildland rescue, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) experience, in case of a natural disaster or other life-threatening situations. Right now there are five Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) working for the Freeville Fire Department. 

To save more lives, the fire department would like to take the initiative to set up programs open to the public to train locals in CPR and First Aid. They are always looking for volunteers and want to show the public not only what they can do but also recruit new members interested in joining the team. In the past, for fundraising, they have hosted a pancake breakfast and still hold chicken barbeques. During Halloween, the Freeville Fire Department offers hay rides to kids and loves connecting with the community.

Those interested in helping can fill out an application to volunteer or donate as listed on their website at freevillefd.com. Located on 21 Union Street, they can be reached by phone at (607) 844-9662, or by email at info@freevillefd.com.  In addition, you can contact the chief at chief@freevillefd.com.