(Photo via the Homer Fire Department).
The Homer Fire Department was recently honored for a historical and monumental achievement.
This past Monday, the department celebrated 150 years of service within the community. The Village of Homer Board of Trustees honored the Homer Fire Department with a plaque last week, and a proclamation at Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting.
Homer Fire Department, which has been in service since 1873, wrote a post on its Facebook page to commemorate the department’s volunteers of past and present:
“Today (April 10, 2023) marks the 150th anniversary of the Homer Fire Department. This is an extremely special day for our organization and the community because the citizens of Homer have been proudly protected by a volunteer fire department for the past 150 years.
As we look back on our long history, it's difficult to not think heavily of the founding members of the Homer Fire Department, who in 1873 founded the Homer Fire Department as part of the Village of Homer. This group worked tirelessly to gather equipment and personnel to protect themselves and their neighbors from the unfortunate losses of fires.
Today as the fire service has been expanded over the years, our firefighters must train to protect and serve the community on many types of emergencies, including medical, hazardous materials, vehicle accidents, industrial accidents, search and rescues, and so much more.
The fire department is the backbone of the community in many places, and we are proud to (currently) serve the Village of Homer, the Town of Homer, and the Town of Scott.”
The Homer Fire Department’s impact on the community aided the efforts of the Cortlandville Fire Department’s inception in the 1980s. Cortlandville published a post on its Facebook page, praising HFD for its service in the community:
“The Cortlandville Fire Department would like to recognize our neighbors on this milestone. We owe our existence to the Homer Fire Department. Until 1982, the town of Cortlandville’s fire protection was handled largely by the Homer Fire Department. The leadership of HFD paved the way and set the standards in which we uphold today.”
“It’s pretty amazing when you think about the fact that other large departments like Cortlandville sprang from Homer,” Village mayor Hal McCabe said at Tuesday’s Board of Trustees meeting.
McCabe noted at Tuesday’s meeting that the village will be holding a celebration for the Homer Fire Department on July 22. Further details of the celebration have yet to be determined.
