The History of the Glenwood H&L, E&H, Co., Inc

1957-1966

The Company celebrated its 50th Anniversary in 1957. At the time of the celebration, the Company consisted of 134 members operating 10 pieces of apparatus from two firehouses - Ford Chiefs car; Ford Booster; Dodge Power Wagon Booster, Dodge Power Wagon floodlight; 1937 Walters 1,000 gallon-per-minute [g.p.m.] pumper with full-time four-wheel drive; 1949 Mack 1,250 g.p.m. pumper; 1954 Seagrave 75-foot aerial ladder; a 1939 Mack heavy rescue truck; a Cadillac ambulance and a 1941 Cadillac Hose Car which also served as a Class "C" tournament rig.

In honor of the Company's 50th Anniversary, a gala parade was held in the summer of 1957. The entire business districts of Glen Head and Glenwood Landing were festooned with red colored banners with large yellow letters that read "Welcome Firemen" and on either side of the banners were red, white and blue bunting. Chief Herman Miller led the Company in the anniversary parade with more than 100 men in the line of march along with every piece of apparatus, an impressive display of the Company's manpower and equipment.

During the Company's first fifty years, the members battled some large fires - the Stern's house, two major fires at Karatsonyi's Hotel on Shore Road; Fyfe's shipyard, the Potter Estate in Old Brookville. and Steisel's and Berstein's stores in Glen Cove.

One of the biggest commercial building fires the Company responded to was on a warm summer's day in 1957, when firefighters respovded to a truck fire at the Woodside Farms diary building on the corner of Glen Head and Cedar Swamp Roads. At the time the whistle was blowing, thick black smoke could be seen high in the sky from the center of town. The truck fire was inside the building where some 23 delivery trucks were parked. The fire quickly spread from truck to truck. However, firefighters were able to successfully remove a number of the vehicles. The huge fire drew hundreds of spectators to the fire scene. One firefighter was slightly injured, when an explosion from within the building knocked him off a ground ladder.

Even though the Company had experienced many a working fire during the its first fifty-years, no one had died as a result from injuries sustained from a fire. All that was to change in the early morning hours of January 22, 1962

At approximately 12:45 a.m., Glenwood firefighters were alerted for a house fire at the Watson residence on Valentines Lane in Old Brookville. Upon arriving at the scene shortly thereafter, Chief George Amrhein was informed that three occupants of the home were still trapped inside. The fire was located in the first floor living room and had consumed the contents of the room, producing tremendous heat and smoke throughout the two-story, wood frame home. The first crews tried repeatedly to reach the second floor, but without the aid of Scott Paks [which we take for granted todayl, were beaten back each time by the heavy smoke and intense heat. The fire was quickly extinguished and confined to the living room. The bodies of Carl Watson. Jr. and his wife Helen - both of whom were 42 years of age, and, their son, Carl III were found on the second floor. The husband and wife were found in a bathroom and the son's body was discovered a short distance away in an adjoining playroom. Prior to the arrival of firefighters, the father had rescued his 18-year-old daughter whose room was on an intermediate level of the home. The father then went back inside the home and to the second floor to get his wife and son. However, it appears that before the could safely exit the home, they were overcome by the heavy smoke, and died as a result of smoke inhalation. The cause of the fire was traced to the living room couch, where either a smoldering ash, or a cigarette ignited the couch and quickly spread to the room's contents.

One of the largest fires in the Company's history occurred on February 4, 1960, in Roslyn Harbor. The 42-room mansion - Wenlo on the Bay, was constructed in the late 1800's and was situated on a 19-acre estate overlooking Hempstead Harbor. The twin turrets of the mansion had served for more than 50 years as a landmark for sailors coming into the harbor.

At the time of the fire, the mansion was occupied by world renowned eye surgeon, Dr. Wendell Hughes. Mr. William Hughes, the 25-year-old son of Dr. Hughes had returned to the estate at around 8:40 p.m. when he smelled smoke. Opening the door to the cellar area he noticed flames, and ran upstairs to call the fire department, but apparently the phone lines were already burned through. Hughes then ran to a third floor apartment, when he was successful in phoning the fire department. The fire by this time had gained quite a foothold in the basement area. The three-story mansion constructed in 1867, had spaces [voids] in the walls that in some areas were as wide as two feet. These open air shafts ran from the basement to the attic area, allowing the fire to rapidly spread throughout the structure and into the roof area.

All through the night, Glenwood firefighters battled the stubborn blaze in sub-freezing temperatures. Mutual aid was requested from the Roslyn Highlands, Roslyn Rescue and Port Washington fire departments. At the height of the fire, more than 250 firefighters, under the command of Chief Edward "Whip" Lockwood battled the blaze.

The water supply in Glenwood was being taxed by the large amount of water being used at the fire scene. Newspaper accounts of the fire report that hose lines were stretched from the fire scene to the village of Roslyn, more than half-a-mile away, in order to supplement the water supply necessary to battle the fire. It has been said by older members present at the fire, that the engine manifolds of Glenwood's Mack pumper were literally red hot from pumping at a hydrant for more than 12 hours.

By daybreak, the fire was finally brought under control and extinguished. Glenwood firefighters remained on the scene throughout the day, extinguishing small pockets of fire that would flare up.

The damage to the building and its contents was estimated at more than $500,000. By today's estimates, the fire loss would be at least three times that figure.

As the department entered the 1960's, the Company's drill team was reborn and renamed the "Greenhorns." The motto of the team was "Totem Home Plenty" and the boys from Glenwood did just that. The tournament team competed throughout Long Island and New York State. The team won six major tournaments and was the first team from Nassau County to ever win the Lindenhurst Drill in 1966.

A First Aid team was also formed in the early 1960's. The team competed throughout Long Island and New York State against some of the best teams. The team of George Amrhein; Bill Grell; George Hotz; Tom Covino; Arthur Pearsall, Sr. and Neil Caggiano brought home many awards and honors to Glenwood. On April 16, 1966, the fire company and the First Aid team sponsored a major Rescue First Aid drill at the North Shore High School gymnasium. Twenty seven teams from throughout New York State competed in the tournament.

In 1965, the Company decided that the small two-bay annex on Glen Head Road had outlived its usefulness and a new firehouse should be erected in its place.