Celebrating Our Firefighters

While the world is still reeling from the news of the catastrophic fire that severely damaged Notre-Dame Cathedral yesterday, the City of Hudson prepares to celebrate its own long history of fire fighting.

The first structure fire in Hudson occurred in 1793. The properties destroyed by the fire were a bookstore and the office of the Hudson Gazette, both owned by Ashbel Stoddard. Franklin Ellis, in his 1878 History of Columbia County, says of the fire:

There were then no engines, nor any organization of firemen in the city, and, still worse, no available supply of water. Under these circumstances the fire was left to rage without check, and almost without an attempt to subdue it. Fortunately, however, the night was calm and still, and the flames did not spread beyond the premises on which they originated.

After this conflagration, the citizens of Hudson were motivated to raise money for a fire engine, and on April 17, 1794, the Common Council passed a resolution appointing nineteen firemen "to superintendent the Fire-Engine Number One." That first fire company became J. W. Edmonds Hose Co. No. 1.

Tomorrow, April 17, 2019, Mayor Rick Rector will honor the anniversary of the creation of the Hudson Fire Department and celebrate its 225 years of service at 12 noon in a brief ceremony on the steps of City Hall. All are encouraged to attend.
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