The land where the Fire Headquarters, Station #1, is located was originally part of a 10-acre lot granted to John Dumbleton in 1666. The land near the Muxy Meadow where the Fire Station stands was wet and fertile and was still being farmed in the early 20th century.
Fire fighting was done by bucket brigade until 1888 when a permanent Fire Department was formed. The town’s first fire station was a converted wooden schoolhouse on West School Street. The installation of the town’s first fire hydrants followed shortly thereafter. While having a permanent fire fighting crew on hand was an improvement, firemen still had to pull the hose carriage, called a "jumper", to the site of a fire. Within a few years, the first fire alarm boxes were being installed and horses were being employed to pull the "jumpers".
The use of horses improved the fire departments’ ability to respond to fires. However, in 1899 it was decided that the old fire station on West School Street was unsafe for stabling horses and the aging wooden structure was replaced with the stronger brick building still standing there today.
By 1910 fire trucks had replaced horses, additional stations had been built in other parts of town and methods of fire fighting had improved.
In 1973 the new Fire Headquarters building on Van Deene Avenue was dedicated and in 2003 it was expanded.
Today’s firefighters have been called on to fulfill tasks not previously assigned to their jurisdiction. The town’s ambulance, paramedic, water rescue, and hazardous materials handling services are just a few of these activities.
Toward the left front of the building are two monuments of interest. The "Last Alarm" plaque is mounted on a boulder and dedicated to deceased firefighters, and a bell, struck by the Meneely Bell Company of Troy, New York, is dedicated to all Fire Department personnel. This bell was originally bought for the then ‘new’ Fire Headquarters building on West School Street in 1900.