ESSEX VFD

07/06/2026

07/05/2026

We would like to thank everyone who participated in and came out to watch our 4th of July Parade yesterday! Please see below the official “Best Of Show” winners. There was no shortage of festive and wonderfully decorated floats, antique cars, and shiny emergency apparatus! We look forward to seeing everyone again in 2028

We would also like to thank all of our wonderful Essex VFD volunteers, the Town of Essex, and the volunteer community members who helped make the fireworks display on July 3rd and yesterday’s festivities possible!

06/30/2026

Join us tomorrow Wednesday June 30th at our station from
5PM - 7PM for a pre-sale of our 4th of July T-Shirts. All proceeds will be donated to the Essex Volunteer Fire Department

We will also be selling T-Shirts during the at our food booth on the 4th behind Town Hall!

Thank you to Willsboro Senior Grace Hamilton for designing such a wonderful t-shirt for our Fourth of July Celebration!

06/15/2026

Thank you to our mutual aid partners Whallonsburgh Fire and Willsboro Fire for assisting us in a controlled burn pile at the Essex Transfer Station today. We are lucky to have such a robust crew between the three departments along with the other neighboring fire departments we routinely work with throughout Essex County

06/04/2026

The official countdown begins! We are one month away from the 4th of July in Essex. Members of Essex VFD have been preparing for well over a year for this year's 250th celebration!

Some highlights include a firework display over the lake on July 3rd at 9PM. This is made possible by collaboration with SJW Docks who has generously donated a barge as a launch site allowing us to once again utilize Beggs Park as the primary viewing site!

Essex VFD members will once again be serving up delicious food behind Town Hall on the 4th of July. Food will be available during and after the parade! All proceeds collected will be donated to the Essex Volunteer Fire Department

We are excited to invite one and all to participate in our 4th of July Parade. The parade line up will begin on Blockhouse Road at 10am, with the parade to commence on Main Street in the hamlet of Essex at 11AM. Anyone interested in participating with a specific organization, parade float, tractors, antique vehicles, or fire apparatus is welcome to show up at Blockhouse Rd on the day. Please feel free to message us on Facebook or send an email to [email protected] to confirm participation.

Following the parade, the Town of Essex has put together a street fair and evening DJ party at Beggs Park to keep the celebration going! Thank you to all of the 4th of July committee volunteers that assisted in the planning and coordination of post-parade festivities

We look forward to celebrating with everyone next month and hope to see you there!

05/12/2026

This past weekend Essex VFD members participated in a collaborative Live Burn Training held by our neighboring department Willsboro/Reber Fire

Essex members brought E161 and E162 to the burn. Per 38 training command, Essex was tasked with protecting exposures to the south of the barn structure. E161 supplied water to the E162 crew who deployed a ground monitor and deck gun to keep flames at bay. Crews also monitored the nearby exposure structures with thermal imaging to confirm heat levels remained low. Willsboro E382 fed E161 with plenty of water through a 5” LDH supply line.

Willsboro E382 and Whallonsburgh Brush Truck 374 were responsible for the north side of the structure and protecting vegetative exposures

Crews from Willsboro/Reber Fire, Lewis Fire, Whallonsburgh Fire, and Keeseville Fire shuttled water back and forth to the training site and filled two-portable ponds, which secured fire crews a sufficient water supply.

Thank you to our partners at Willsboro Essex EMS for providing standby coverage during our training

We are fortunate to have such dedicated members from multiple local departments who took time out of their Saturday to train and maintain necessary firefighting skills!

Please take a look at the photos below! Thank you to FF Maxey for the drone coverage. These shots are great in demonstrating the overall water supply operations and movement of crews on the fireground

04/19/2026

Today’s Recruit NY open house was a HUGE success

Essex VFD firefighters take pride in being apart of such a community driven and supported fire department. Having the opportunity to show our appreciation and spend time with members of the community is what makes volunteering with Essex Fire so special and rewarding

Thank you to all the community members that stopped by the fire station today to get a tour of the station, our new Engine 161, and touch base with our amazing group of firefighters and volunteers.

Also thank you to our partners at Willsboro Essex EMS for giving an inside look at the ambulance and showcasing their medical response capabilities in the towns of Essex and Willsboro

Anyone interested in volunteering or learning more please feel free to message us here on FB or stop by the station on Tuesday nights at 7pm!

We are always looking for more dedicated and motivated volunteers. We hope to see everyone again soon!

In the meantime, please take a look below at some of the photos from today’s event

04/02/2026

Ever hear the fire siren go off in town and wonder what it would be like to respond? Please join us on April 18th from 10am-2pm, for our Recruit NY open house. Essex VFD is 100% volunteer and always in search of new members. Stop in to take a tour of the firehouse, hear from some of our firefighters, and pick up an application!

Under 16 but still want to learn more? Essex VFD accepts dedicated members 14 and over who are interested in learning more about the fire service!

We will also be holding a special Wetdown / Push In Ceremony of our new Engine 161. The ceremony will be held at 11:30AM during the open house!

Willsboro-Essex EMS will also be at the station giving tours of the ambulance, and taking you through the ins and outs of emergency medical services. New membership applications available for positions of Driver, Attendant, EMT, & Paramedic

03/14/2026

SATURDAY TRAINING

This morning members from both the Willsboro Fire Department and Essex Fire Department participated in a joint ice water rescue training.

Willsboro hosted the training on Willsboro Bay. Firefighters donned water rescue suits off of Heavy Rescue 388 and participated in coordinated rescue effort scenarios and revolutions.

Senior members led the instruction and went over best practices of cold water/ice rescues with both rescuer and victim safety being at the forefront of the training.

Thank you again to Willsboro Fire for hosting and to Willsboro Essex EMS for providing a standby ambulance during the training

Please check out photos below!

01/05/2026

**NEW DELIVERY ALERT**🚒

Essex VFD is excited to announce the arrival of our new Engine 161!

Engine 161 is a 1250GPM 2012 Spartan/Toyne fire apparatus sold and delivered to Essex Fire District #1 by American Fire Equipment co.

The engine will be replacing our current E161, which is from 1996 and officially turned 30 this year!

Essex truck committee members worked closely with American Fire Equipment to customize the used engine before final delivery. The completed project upgrades included new hard suction racks, installation of a drivers side suction, reconfiguration of the existing front suction, along with various aesthetic and cosmetic improvements including custom reflective striping and department decals.

A special thanks to the manufacturer Toyne Fire Apparatus for installing a brand new 1100 Gallon tank, recertifying the pump and bringing E161 up to NFPA compliance with brand new reflective chevrons at the rear and front bumper.

Essex VFD members will spend the next couple weeks getting oriented and training on the new apparatus. This weekend at the first work detail over 10 members were in attendance along with multiple members from our neighboring departments. We appreciate the assistance from our mutual aid partners in helping us configure the truck to best fit the needs of our response territory.

We would like to thank American Fire Equipment for taking on the project and working closely with our truck committee and EFD #1 Commissioners to deliver a beautiful and functional apparatus to better serve our community for years to come.

Be on the look out for an official push in/wet down ceremony this Spring at Essex Station where we will invite the community to celebrate the arrival of the new engine and its placement into service!

In the meantime here is a sneak peek of the engine in the photos below: