TRR photo by Tom Kane Tom Wood and son Kevin Wood placed American flags throughout the hamlet of Narrowsburg to get ready for the nation’s birthday and the 100th anniversary celebration of the Narrowsburg Fire Department. (Click for larger image)

It’s the thing to do since 1902

Fire Department hosts annual Field Days

NARROWSBURG — In the hundred years since the Narrowsburg Fire Department started, its members have put out some big fires, suffered the tragic loss of young members killed by accident (Brock, Hankins and Laraia in 1979), gone through an array of technological advances in alarm systems (see “Calling out the men!”), allowed boys of 12 to sign up, and now have women in its ranks.

The training ranges from how to drive an emergency vehicle to how to deal with weapons of mass destruction and terrorism. But the one constant the fire department has provided with very few exceptions is that on the Fourth of July the volunteers get together and put on a great community event, complete with a parade, field day and fireworks. The volunteer fire department demonstrates how vital communities stay alive. As Orvis Vanatta put it: “The fire department is not about fires, it’s about the people who put them out.”

This year, the field days start on Friday with an all-day picnic, accompanied by two jazz bands and carnival rides. The parade will take place on Saturday, July 6 at 1:00 p.m. (lineup begins at noon), with the reviewing stand on the porch of the Arlington Hotel. The parade will include 11 floats, 15 fire trucks, and a dozen or more hot rods. Port Jervis is sending its marching band, and some Junior Marines will march. Rounding out the parade will be the boy scouts and three beauty queens. Political dignitaries and judges will be on hand to award trophies.

So get out your dancing shoes and support the fire department. The fire fighters keep our lives safe, and as Charlie Knapp says, “It’s important to recognize that the founders have done such a great thing.”