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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Good-Will breaks ground on new firehouse
By SHANTAL RILEY
[email protected]
“I promise concern for others. A
willingness to help all those in need. I
promise courage - courage to face and
conquer my fears. Courage to share and
endure the ordeal of those who need me,”
he said.
Deacon Peter Haight, chaplain of the
Good-Will Fire Department, read the
words to “A Firefighter’s Pledge” at a
ground-breaking ceremony for a new,
11,400-square-foot firehouse on Sunday.
The building is expected to be completed
sometime in September.
“The firefighters are here to serve
you,” said Haight to 100 or so guests
attending the ceremony.
When completed, the firehouse will
boast four, large bays, decontamination
facilities, an air compressor room,
lockers, storage, training space and ample
parking space.
The building project will cost a total
of $3.9 million. Last year, Good Will Fire
District voters approved a $3.2 million
serial bond to pay for the project. The
district will also draw on $500,000 from
the district’s capital reserve fund and a
$250,000 grant from the state Dormitory
Authority. Good Will Deputy Fire
Commissioner John Conner thanked
Sen. Bill Larkin Jr. for making the grant
possible.
The department itself dates all the way
back to 1947, Conner explained, starting
out of Tony Bianco’s garage on Pierrepont
Avenue.
SHANTAL RILEY
Good Will firefighters break ground at a ceremony for a new, 11,400-square-foot fire station on Sunday.
The firehouse on South Plank Road
served as home to the Good-Will Fire
Department since the early 1960s. The
asbestos-filled building was knocked
down last month. “That was our home
since 1962,” Conner said. “Everything
grew except the building.”
Twelve years ago, the district began
planning and research on constructing a
new firehouse. With the support of the
state and district voters, the plan came to
fruition, Conner said.
Good-Will Treasurer Frank Galli
expressed a hearty thanks to Ron Barton
of Barton Chevrolet Cadillac, who
offered the fire department a home at
his dealership on Rt. 17K until the new
firehouse is ready to move into. “If it
weren’t for him, we’d probably be out on
the street,” Galli said.
“These fellows run toward the fire…
and there’s no such thing as a little fire,”
said Newburgh Town Supervisor Gil
Piaquadio. “I want to thank the Good-Will
Fire Department for what they are doing
here.”
“They are the backbone of emergency
services in Orange County,” said
Orange County Emergency Services
Commissioner Brendan Casey speaking
about the department’s volunteers and
other volunteer emergency responders
around the county. “We couldn’t do
anything without them.”
Bob McCormick
Bob McCormick
Deacon Peter Haight (l.) reads a prayer.
L - r: Orange County Emergency Services Commissioner Brendan Casey, County Legislator
Jim Kulisek, Councilman Jim Presutti and Town Supervisor Gil Piaquadio.