TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE – Mid-Hudson Construction Management has presented Arlington Fire District Chief Bill Steenbergh with a donation. The $500 gift will be used to enhance the memorial to Arlington firefighters who died in the line of duty.
Mid-Hudson Construction Management recently purchased and rehabilitated the original Arlington Fire Department headquarters at 766 Main Street in Arlington and created Firehouse Lofts, consisting of four loft apartments, each with one bedroom, and a commercial space. The ground-floor commercial space was the two-vehicle apparatus bay used by the fire department. Much of the original tile work from the firehouse was left intact by the developer when they restored the building.
Chief Steenbergh and several of his firefighters attended the ribbon-cutting on Tuesday to accept the check and he gave a brief history of the original fire station.
The building was constructed by the American Chemical Engine Company of Arlington in 1915 for $5,200. It was opened on March 17 of that year, housing a hand-pulled cart. It became the Arlington Engine Company #1 in 1922 and housed two motorized fire engines operated by paid drivers and staffed by volunteers. In 1931 an addition was built to house a ladder truck. It housed the department until 1981 when they moved to the current Arlington Headquarters on Burnett Boulevard.
Chief Steenbergh told the attendees about two Arlington firefighters who had worked at the Main Street station and died in the line of duty.
In 1949, firefighter Herbert Bishop responded with a rig from station one to a fire on Raymond Avenue at the site of the current Hurricane Grill. He was the only firefighter on the scene and suffered a fatal heart attack. It wasn’t until a passerby saw him and went to the firehouse to report the tragedy that anyone knew.
Firefighter Carl Bauer had served at the Main Street station during his career. He was fatally injured at the Arlington FD maintenance facility in Red Oaks Mill in 1974.
The names of Bishop and Bauer are memorialized on a monument at Arlington headquarters.
“Our professional firefighters have redesigned the monument that honors our two men that died in the line of duty. This money will help us enhance the appearance of the memorial and we are thankful for the generous donation provided by Mid-Hudson Construction Management,” Steenbergh said.
Scott Travis, company vice-president, joined his brother Raymond, the company’s president, in presenting the check. “We are honored to be able to support the Arlington Fire District with this donation. We are part of this community and know the importance of the work the fire department does. This is just a gesture of our appreciation,” said the vice-president.
