Oceanic Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1
Read More
Organized as Oceanica in 1881, Oceanic Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1 holds the distinction of being the oldest volunteer fire company remaining in active frontline service in New York City. Thirty five volunteers provide fire protection to the present day neighborhood of Travis in the Borough of Staten Island. Operating under an official charter through New York City dating back to 1905, Oceanic is alerted to alarms by the FDNY's Staten Island Communications Office by pager and house sirens.
1997 Seagrave 1000 gpm/500 gal.
When originally organized in 1881, Oceanic Hook & Ladder ran a hand drawn pumper, hose reel and ladder cart. They later operated a horse drawn Gleason and Bailey tillered city service truck that was motorized in 1921 with a Ford Model T automobile converted to act as a tractor. Oceanic began operating an engine company in 1930 when a 1912 combination chemical hose wagon that formerly served FDNY was acquired which then served until 1969 (after being upgraded in 1933 with a new Chevrolet chassis). Present day, this former FDNY rig (Ex-Engine 40) is assigned to respond first due to most alarms.
Brush Fire Unit - 1993 American General M35A3/2017 Eastern Surplus/Dept. Built 75 gpm/300 gal.
Under the leadership of Chief Robert Coghlan, a state grant was provided by New York State State legislator Michael J. Cusick who represents Assembly District 63 on Staten Island. The grant provided $100,000 slated to cover half the cost of a new fire apparatus with the remaining half towards building repairs on Oceanic's firehouse.
Working with Eastern Surplus, a supplier of former military vehicles based in Philadelphia, Oceanic originally planned to acquire a different rig in 2016, however, financial difficulties delayed that purchase. With their newly approved grant funding, they were then able to acquire this 1993 AM General M35A3 at the end of 2017 with Eastern Surplus performing a refurbishment. The rig was stripped down to the chassis with the removal of the the third axle converting it to four wheel drive, a hard top cab roof was fabricated, roll bars were added and it received a new paint job. Picked up in August 2017, Oceanic's members then worked through the Fall of 2017 installing a skid unit with a 75 GPM pump, 300-gallon water tank and 12 gallon foam tank. Outfitted with a 24-ton winch, it features two 3/4" booster lines and carries 12 lengths of forestry hose.
This rig now operates as the primary Brush Fire Unit for Oceanic alongside their original long serving 1959 Dodge M37 detailed below.Oceanic Hook and LadderVFDNYAM GeneralEastern SurplusDept BuiltBrushMilitary Surplus4x4
Brush Fire Unit - 1959 Dodge M37/1975 SCAT Fire Apparatus 250 gpm/220 gal.
Originally operated by the US Army Ordinance Corps, this workhorse was rebuilt by Oceanic's members over several years and is still in active service since 1975! A rather unyque feature of this rig is that it is equipped with a front mounted winch complete with a heavy duty anchor to help extricate it from marshy areas - Oceanic proudly boasts that it has been used more often to extricate other apparatus rather than itself! This rig was the primary Brush Fire Unit since entering service in May of 1975 prior to the newer rig (shown above) entering service in 2017.
Oceanic Hook and LadderVFDNYDodgeSCAT Fire ApparatusBrushMilitary SurplusDept Built