It all began in October 1874 with a fire on Banks Avenue in Rockville Centre, Long Island, New York. At that time Rockville Centre was primarily an agricultural community with some light industry. When the fire was discovered, a group of men took pails from the tin shop, formed a bucket brigade to nearby Smith’s Pond, and eventually extinguished the fire. The village realized then it was in dire need of firefighting equipment.
Rockville Centre, settled in 1643 on the South Shore of Long Island, had endured more than 200 years without organized fire protection. There were no fire companies between Freeport and Jamaica on the South Shore, with the result that nearly every fire caused extensive damage to the property involved.
It was not until almost a year later, on Sept. 25, 1875, that a group of young men met at the old Institute Hall on Village Avenue to discuss the formation of a fire company for the protection of the community. They called their company Eureka Hook, Ladder, and Bucket Company.
On Jan. 25, 1890, concerned residents, realizing that there was a more modern way of doing things, and to make better use of the few fire wells located in the business district, met and formed Live Oak Engine Company and went into fundraising mode to buy equipment. In early February 1890, the members of Eureka contracted to buy a No. 4 Button Hand fire engine and other equipment. While awaiting delivery, agreement was made between the two companies, and upon delivery in June, the unit was sold to Live Oak.
Now, 141 years after the first rig – a $125 wagon custom built and tooled with wooden ladders, canvas buckets, axes, and pikes – the department members are going to fires with a new Spartan Engine.
Since that time Rockville Centre has grown immensely and has turned into a 3.25-square-mile urban area with a population of 26,000. It has numerous residential areas with a college, hospital, several schools, and the obligatory strip shopping areas and restaurants.
Peter Grandazza, former chief and truck committee chair, states, “the department has been very proactive when it comes to apparatus replacement which runs 20-25 years for apparatus replacement.
“We had a 1998 Pierce Quantum that was in the need of replacement. It was 25 years old and it was time to start looking into a replacement. Our committee started the process in 2021 and looked at several manufacturers.”
This time around the department wanted a sole source vendor for the body and chassis, as well as having the body built with more and larger compartments for carrying extra tools, Grandazza said. The committee chose Spartan through a Sourcewell contract mainly because it met all of the department’s specs.
The department went with a top-mount pump panel, speedlays which carry 250-feet of 1¾-inch hose, an extended front bumper with 35-feet of 5-inch, and a 100-foot trash line of 1¾-inch hose. Rear beds carry 1,000-feet of 5-inch Large Diameter Hose (LDH), two beds of 600-feet of 2½-inch hose and two beds of 600-feet of 1¾-inch and 2½-inch hose.
“Our committee made two visits out to the Spartan factory for pre-construction and final inspection visits. No changes had to be made to the vehicle at all during final inspection. We designed a basic pumper for our response area that would be simple to operate for our members and have great maneuverability, which it has.”
The Rockville Centre Fire Department designed a well-thought-out engine for its response district. It chose a manufacturer (Spartan) that gave it what it wanted with design issues at the end.
It gained compartment and hose space that enabled the department to carry additional tools and hose for the future.
Planning for the future use of your apparatus goes a long way when deciding on purchasing a new rig.
Specs
- Spartan Gladiator ELFD chassis
- Top mount pump panel
- Cummins L9 450-hp engine
- Allison EVS 4000 transmission
- Stainless steel body
- 500-gallon water tank
- Hale Qmax 1,500-gpm pump
Rockville Centre Fire Department
- 7 Companies, 5 Engines, 1 Truck, and 1 Floodlight Rescue Company, 1 light rescue
- Live Oak Engine Company No. 1 / Eureka Hook, Ladder & Bucket Company No. 1 – 103 Maple Avenue
- Engine 441 – 2023 Spartan ER Gladiator ELFD (1500 top-mount/500)
- Antique Engine 441 – 1937 Ahrens-Fox BT (1000/300
- Tower Ladder 447 – 2008 Ferrara Inferno HD-100 (-/-/100′ mid-mount platform) (Ex-Elmont Fire Department)
- Ladder 449 – 2015 Pierce Velocity (-/-/100′ rear mount)
- Defender Hose Company No. 1 – 39 South Centre Avenue
- Engine 445 – 2016 Spartan ERV Gladiator (1500/500)
- Fire Police 448 – 2014 Ford F-350
- Alert Engine & Hose Company No. 2 / Floodlight Company No. 1 (Headquarters) – 58 North Centre Avenue
- Engine 442 – 2016 Spartan ERV Gladiator (1500/500)
- Rescue 446 – 2008 Spartan Gladiator Evolution / SVI walk-around
- Ambulance 4461 – 2009 Ford E-Series
- Ambulance 4462 – 2013 Ford E-Series
- Fly Car 4463 – 2018 Chevrolet Suburban
- Reliance Hose Company No. 3 – 137 North Forest Avenue
- Engine 443 – 2016 Spartan ERV Gladiator (1500/500)
- Unit 4434 – 2018 Ford F-550 XLT / Proliner walk-around rescue
- Woodland Engine Company No. 4 – 20 Driscoll Avenue
- Engine 444 – 2015 KME Predator
BOB VACCARO has more than 50 years of fire service experience. He is a former chief of the Deer Park (NY) Fire Department. Vaccaro has also worked for the Insurance Services Office, the New York Fire Patrol, and several major commercial insurance companies as a senior loss-control consultant. He is a life member of the IAFC.
