History

During the last two decades of the 19th century, the village of Pittsford had been struggling with the idea of installing a water works to provide water to its residents and to provide water for emergencies such as fire fighting. In August 1881, the paper made note of the fact that “The air in Pittsford was black with smoke from fires burning along the railroad.” It had been a hot and dry month, and the paper recognized Pittsford’s lack of an organized fire brigade for dealing with fires.

It was clear by now that a formal group was needed to respond for fires and other emergencies. Having installed a system of water supply and seeing the tragic losses of fire, at a Pittsford Village Board meeting on the 21st of November, 1898, a resolution was passed authorizing the formation of a volunteer fire brigade.

Pittsford Fire Department first celebrated Memorial Day, known then as Decoration Day, by marching in the parade on May 30th, 1899. Although the fire department has a proud history of volunteerism, even a century ago people had busy lives, which made it difficult to find the time to do all the necessary tasks associated with running a fire department.

Pittsford Fire Department started as two independent hose companies. At the request of the Village Board, on January 25, 1901, the two companies joined under one organization as the Pittsford Fire Department.