Newstead Fire Company History

    In late 1946, Mr. William Pearles began a search of residents to establish fire protection in the town of Newstead.  On October 28, 1947, it was decided that the fire company officially be formed because the village fire department’s “two mile radius” rule left a portion of the town unprotected.   The first officers of the Newstead Fire Company were nominated and elected.  They were as follows: President: Walter Fleming; VP: Matthew Capan; Secretary: Tom Sinsel and Treasurer: August Drachenberg.  Five Directors were also elected and were as follows: Samuel Freeman, Earle Morse, George Frampton, William Pearles and Louis Caple.  On November 4, 1947, the body accepted the Certificate of Incorporation.

    On January 6^th 1948, William Pearles was elected the first fire chief and one year later, the Newstead Fire Company purchased its first fire truck from the Clarence Fire Company for $2800.  It was housed at Sam Freeman’s garage on Main Road, near the Clarence line. 

    On September 12, 1949 the body agreed to purchase our current property from Edwin “Pete” Draper on Cummings road for $800.  The first meeting held in the new block building firehall was on June 12^th, 1950. That hall served its purpose for a long time, and the spring of 1977 saw the construction of our current hall.  A few years later, Newstead Fire Company was the first of the surrounding companies to have a substation, ours was build in the early 1980’s on Rapids Road and we still have a building there today.

     This has been adapted from the Newstead Fire Company’s book entitled “The First Fifty Years.” It was compiled and edited by David Cummings in 1997 for our 50^th anniversary.

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