Northport Fire Department To Turn 125

The Northport Volunteer Fire Department will celebrate 125 years of service in 2014. Although the landmark anniversary is almost two years away, a committee headed by Chief John McKenna and Chairman Jim Mahoney has already begun planning an “enjoyable year of celebratory events.”

The Department will be reflecting on its achievements every 25 years, and the committee looks forward to feedback from the community, McKenna said. In addition to a parade, a battle of the bands, and spectacular fireworks at the annual Firemen’s Fair, the department will also commemorate this significant milestone with special mementos including a history book like the one created for the 100th anniversary.

The book will be organized according to each chief’s tenure, and will include information about the Smokeaters and Ladies Auxiliary which will celebrate its 75th anniversary.  

“The book will include stories that have been told and stories that haven’t been told,” Mahoney said.

The firehouse’s brick façade will be fitted with a new center stone in black granite with a gold-leafed Maltese cross and the pins that firemen wear are being updated.

“If you are a member in 2014, you’ll receive a pin with the new dates,” Mahoney said, adding that those who have been members for 25 years or more by 2014 will receive pins with a gold finish.

Mahoney said that he especially wanted to thank Jo-Ann Corretti, who was commissioned to do a painting of Fire Headquarters on Main Street. Her work was viewed by the public for the first time on Saturday.

Corretti, an award-winning artist who used to live across the street from the firehouse, has been painting Northport scenes for more than 30 years. Mahoney, a fan of Corretti’s work and a department member since 1973, said that he felt like a child on Christmas morning when he saw the completed painting. The painting was eight months in the making, and Corretti took hundreds of photographs, including close-ups, to capture every detail of the firehouse, which was expanded and remodeled in 2004.

While the original painting will not be displayed at Fire Headquarters until Jan. 2014, signed and numbered prints measuring 10 x 19 inches are available for purchase. The initial offering is $100 per print, but will increase to $120 after Dec. 31 2011. To purchase a print, contact Fire Headquarters on its non-emergency number, (631) 261-7504.

According to both McKenna and Mahoney, the fire department has come a long way since its inception in 1889 when there was no fire protection and people either hoped for rain or came running with buckets. The firehouse was originally located in a barn in Cow Harbor Park opposite the Thompson Law Building, then moved to the site now occupied by the Village Hall and the Police Department before inhabiting its present location in 1955.