The Village of Cleveland was incorporated in 1857 and as part of that incorporation there was reference to the providing of fire protection. Although records of these early days are very sparse, there was certainly organized fire department activity first in the form of a bucket brigade which eventually gave way to a hand operated pumper in the 1890’s. We have very few records of these early days, but we do know that in the early 1890’s the village purchased a hand pumper from the Howe Fire Apparatus Company. This was apparently in service only a relatively short time being replaced by hose carts when the village water system was installed at the turn of the century.
During the next few decades there were actually two hose carts one kept on Kathern St. in a small wood frame hose house. That has in recent years been relocated to the front of our station on West St. The upper part of Cleveland north of the old railroad tracks was known as the “union” and was the location of several glass factories prior to 1900. The main hose cart location was in the “downtown” area of Cleveland in at least a couple different places, one being in the village hall on Main St. and for a time in the village jail located at Bridge and Clay Sts. It should be recalled that in these early days the population of the village was at least twice as large as now and it was a busy and bustling place.
By the 1930’s the hose carts had been converted from hand pulled to having a tow hitch that firemen’s car could be hooked to and hauled to the fire. I have talked to older residents who recalled this change as a big step forward compared to the old days of grabbing the cart which must have weighed several hundred pounds loaded with heavy 2 ½ in. hose, nozzles and tools and pulling it to a fire. In those days drill consisted of the Chief sounding the alarm with no prior notification and the members pulling the cart at top speed around the one mile square perimeter of the village a distance totaling four miles at a dead run.
The fire alarm signal in those days was the ringing of the church bells which of course stood out as a call for help, unless the fire were on Sunday morning in which case that must have been confusing. You have to remember that in these early days there were very few fires perhaps only a few times a year would the fire department be needed. Although the frequency of fires was very low the severity was high. In our history we had many large buildings destroyed by fires. These include large hotels and stores and buildings belonging to the glass factories. There were also notable saves, for example the three story wood frame Hotel Cleveland located on Main St. caught on fire in Feb. of 1935. The firefighters of the time were able to hold that fire to the third floor using only hydrant streams and guts. No self-contained breathing apparatus, no radios and no turnout gear at that time existing.
A major step forward came in 1941 when the village purchased our first motorized fire truck. In an interesting turn of events, a public referendum was taken to okay the purchase of a trailer pump. Trailer pumps were being used in London during the war and consisted of a small pump connected to a gasoline engine designed to be hauled to the fire by any available vehicle. The vote passed, but only by one vote. The village board was then convinced to change direction and purchase a used 1937 Ford chassis from a dealer in Syracuse and have a fire truck body and pump installed by the Rochester Fire Equipment Company. This was accomplished for basically the same cost as the trailer pump but was a lot better investment. At the same time fire protection district contracts were signed with the Town of Constantia and Town of Vienna which brought in a small income and allowed the new truck to extend fire protection into the areas around Cleveland outside the village limits.

The delivery of the new truck late in 1941 was at about the time of the start of World War Two and was the start of some really exciting times in Cleveland. A new village hall was purchased and the new truck was located in the Deans building on the south side of Main St. A new alarm siren was purchased and installed doing away with the raise to the church to ring the bell and Cleveland F.D. began to organize and train at a level much increased from the good old days of the hose carts. As W.W. II kicked into full speed many of the members including the Fire Chief Leonard Tufts and fire company Secretary Laurence Cottet found themselves marching out of the firehouse and off to war at the advanced ages of 32 and 38 respectively. With most of the young men gone the older generation was left to man the single truck fire company. A group picture taken at the time shows a lot of older men clustered around our pride and joy, the 37 Ford.
During the war it became obvious to the members that a second pumper was needed to provide standby coverage and deal with the possibility of two simultaneous alarms. The village having little or no money the fire company stepped in and began raising funds by holding dances and other events in the new fire station. In 1944 money was raised to purchase an open cab 1932 Diamond T pumper which then had a 400 gpm front mount pump installed of the same type as provided on the 37 Ford. The Diamond T was quite a rig as older members recall it had no windshield and of course no heater, a winter response was done by wearing heavy insulated mittens to prevent frost bite and a pair of goggles to protect the eyes. This rig had very poor brakes and there were many stories of close calls while driving to and from calls.
After the war the returning veterans swelled the fire company roster and things began to happen quickly. New equipment was added and there was increased talk about a two-way radio system to connect all the departments in the county together. Of course these things were expensive and did not come easily or quickly but they were on the way.
In 1949 there was a serious auto accident with several victims. The nearest ambulance was over 20 miles away and took 45 minutes to arrive. This caused the firemen to start the ball rolling and create the North Shore Ambulance. Fire Department members like James Avery Sr., Leonard Tufts and Art Lawson to name a few, pushed to get an ambulance that would be housed in the fire station and respond without cost to residents of the entire north shore area. Late in 1949 a used ambulance was obtained and housed in the now crowded village hall. Three vehicles were stored behind two doors and on an old wooden floor supported under each wheel by posts. There were stories that if all the vehicles were moved at the same time the floor raised up so much the posts would fall out!
The 1950’s came roaring into Cleveland and they were accompanied by a series of bad fires. Art Lawson’s feed mill and hardware store, a store in the Bitz block, Millers Tavern, and the Gallagher block all burned before the mid fifties and resulted in many good “war stories” in the old fire station. In the midst of the fires we were able to talk the village board into upgrading our fire equipment. The FAE Corporation of CLAYTON N.Y. delivered a 1952 Ford in early 1953. This rig was huge compared to the 37 and Diamond T, it had a 500 gpm. Front-mount pump and 500 gallon tank supplying two booster reels and a full bed of brand new hose. In addition there was a complete assortment of tools, nozzles, fittings, extinguishers and a dozen sets of protective clothing and helmets. The new rig also carried two Scott Packs to allow penetration into heavy smoke. This rig was the most modern in the area and it brought us fully into the fabulous fifties.
During this era, volunteer fire companies began to incorporate under NY State law as a non-profit corporation for various legal reasons. The Cleveland Volunteer Fire Company became a legal entity in 1952 largely via the efforts of a man who had been elected Chief at a very young age in 1950, Robert Glahn Sr. Bob became a major factor in our department that lasted many years remaining active for over 50 years first as Chief then as President and in various other positions. He essentially held every office we have and did a great job in each one. Along with being a natural leader he was a great source of advice and could always be counted on to steer us in the best direction.
Also common during the fifties was the trend for fire companies to participate in parades and hold annual field days as fund raising events. Ours were called the “Three Day Blow” that name coming from storms that often hit Oneida Lake, last three days and do lots of damage. That pretty well described our field days, which were held the weekend after the Fourth of July and were a time of great excitement in our little town. The parade would attract participants from all over central N.Y. and the weekend was topped off by a large fire works display on Sunday evening. In reality we never really made a lot of money but everyone had a great deal of fun.
The fifties were winding down when we had a large hotel fire again on the Main Street located almost across from the village hall. This was one of the first fires I actually got involved in fighting even though not yet a member. Due to lack of available help several young teenaged boys, me among them, were pressed into service by then Fire Chief Claude Bryant to haul hose and direct streams into this fast moving fire. The building was a large two-story structure separated by only about 24 inches from its east exposure. Mutual aid was called and several departments responded drawing water from the pond and lake as was so often the case for large fires. I think it is amazing that this fire was stopped given the situation that existed at the time. It is a testimony to the effectiveness of the fire departments of the time.
The sixties hit slowly at first but a tragic fire in December of 1960 will always remain a horrible memory. On December third a fire started in the Corcoran house on Clay St. adjacent to the railroad tracks. Four small boys died in the fire one of whom was my cousin Dale Morse. An older cousin Dan Morse and a friend Bill Corcoran escaped the fire by jumping from a second floor window. Three of the boys were sons of Colleen Corcoran, James, John and Scott. This was a terrible fire and left a scar on many firefighters as well as the people directly involved.
Another major hotel fire occurred in December of the following year, when the Hotel Cleveland was destroyed. Cold temperatures and the shear size and complexity of the old building were against us from the start. An interior attack was attempted but had to eventually be abandoned due to extreme smoke and heat conditions. Mutual aid was called from as faraway as Parish and again water was pumped from the lake and pond to supplement the hydrant system. This building was separated by ten ft. on either side to nearby exposures. It was a sad sight the next morning to see the beautiful old hotel, which had just been remodeled and upgraded, sagging, and ready to collapse. The Hotel Cleveland had been a relatively famous place in its day, offering great meals and accommodations for visitors and very nice bar room.
As in the preceding decades the fire department began an on going battle with the village board over the issues of updated trucks and a bigger station. As always the problem was money. Cleveland was and is a small place with a limited tax base to draw funds from. As a compromise a 1200 sq. ft. addition was added to the village hall for housing two vehicles. The fire departments request for a tanker could not be accommodated so once again we took up the challenge. A lumber business donated an old Dodge chassis that was no longer used by them and we located an old oil truck tank in a scrap yard. The two were united and a spare 400 gpm front end pump installed which put us in the tanker business for a very small cost.
The village purchased a new tanker pumper combination which arrived in Feb. 1964 and was tested at the pond one cold Saturday to assure it was up to spec. Now with this new Ford F- 800 and its 750 gpm. front mounted pump carrying 1,000 gallons of water and backed up with our home made tanker we felt ready for anything. Like the 1952 rig this one came with everything needed for firefighting including air pacs, turn out gear, portable pumps and generators and a standard underwriters complement of hose and nozzles. One thing that could be set is we didn’t buy often but when we did we spared little expense in providing state of the art equipment.
During the era of the sixties we continued to have large fires and increasingly responded on mutual aid calls to our neighbors to assist with our new and updated fire trucks. During this timeframe it became apparent that we were running out of space on the trucks to carry all of the things we needed and wanted to bring to fires. Here again the fire company accepted the challenge of providing an equipment truck. Important to note it was to be used not for “rescue” purpose but as an emergency truck to haul people and equipment, the rescue part would come later. This latest addition to the fleet was again a donation from the Webb Lumber Company in the form of a Dodge step van in 1968
It was painted and repaired as needed completely by the Fire Company and then donated to the village. The van included lights and siren a portable generator additional air packs and turnout gear in its initial inventory.
In 1971 we recognized the need for rescue service. This was the era of “muscle cars” which were very popular. These were regular automobiles provided with large motors and designed for high-speed performance. The problem was motor vehicle accidents, which we were seeing on a frequent basis with the occupants, pinned in the vehicle and seriously hurt. We needed to replace the Dodge van as it was not working out well and Saulsbury Fire Equipment of Tully NY said they could give us a real rescue truck for less money than we could purchase a new van for. The result was a compartmented body 11 ft. long installed on a 71 Ford F-350 chassis. The truck had a built in 110 volt power supply for four 500 hundred watt quartz flood lights and was lettered on the front with large letters proclaiming RESCUE. We had arrived with a bang and not a minute too soon as the demand for rescue service escalated quickly in the area.
The seventies would turn out to be a time of more progress and change than perhaps any in our history. The new rescue was outfitted with various tools and gave us the ability to deliver two people in full gear and SCBA’s in front of any fire building. This allowed immediate interior attack and our training and experience soon proved how effective this could be. A new Fire Chief Richard Cutler took over in 1972 and made some sweeping changes improving training and appointing new line officers. As in other years the fires never stopped and we continued with numerous serious house and mobile home fires in this era. As we grew expansion began in several ways, one was in the opportunity to add a second fire station in the Panther Lake area. Panther Lake lies at the extreme north end of our fire district and was always a concern because of the distance and time needed to arrive on a fire scene. A new station was built on Co. Rt. 17 north of county Rt. 65. The 1952 Ford pumper and a tanker were placed in service here and a small group of people were organized and trained. At nearly the same time we were given the opportunity to add a third station in Bernhards Bay paid for by the Koppers Lumber company. We added a used pumper purchased from the Blauvelt Fire company in Rockland County. The 1956 GMC was built by American Lafrance and included a 750 gpm pump and 1000 gallon tank. Talk about rapid growth, and we weren’t done yet!

It was new truck time again and we really took a leap with the new one in 1974. We were able again through Saulsbury to purchase a custom Ward Lafrance pumper for less money than we would have paid for one on a Ford chassis. The new rig had the ultra-vision cab a large Detroit diesel engine and automatic transmission. The pump and tank were both 1000 gallons and it came with a full bed of 3 in. hose. In recognition of the revolutionary nature of this rig, first mid-hip pump, first custom, first diesel etc. we had it painted a bright yellow color, not the lime yellow that was so popular back then but more of a lemon yellow instead. The new rig enabled us to put three people in SCBA’s followed by two from the rescue in to a building for interior firefighting and we again realized the benefits with this approach to firefighting.
Now it was 1975 and the main street fire station was crammed beyond its capacity. The fire company had been pushing for 20 years for a new station but funding just was not there. So they elected to build a large new building on West St. to both house fire trucks and provide for a bingo hall and social area. Keep in mind that all these changes happened in the first half of the decade. Many of our members at the time later said they couldn’t recall much about the 70’s that they seemed all a blur. No wonder, things were changing so fast you could barely keep track.
The remainder of the seventies was spent in endless fund raising attempts in an effort to make the mortgage payments and in going to fires that began to happen more often because of the energy shortage. As people turned to burning wood in homes the number of fires escalated greatly. We went from having maybe one or two working fires each year to having one or two each month. Our neighbors were just as busy so it seemed sometime that we no more than returned to service from one fire than we were going out to another. One notable daytime fire saw two homes fully involved before arrival of the first truck with the fire threatening the funeral home. This was just before the new water system was activated so we had to work with inadequate water again and the high wind and cold temperatures made for a very nasty day of firefighting.
The 1980’s saw us doing much the same as we had done in the 70’s --- lots of fires. A new Chief was elected in 1982 as John Hinds took office. John increased the emphasis on training and modernized our fire attack methods in two important ways. The first was the use of 2-inch diameter hose to replace our 1.75-in. lines. This increased our standard flow rate per line to 200 gpm. Another change was adoption of 5-inch supply hose replacing the old 3-in. hose. The concept was put more water on the fire faster and with fewer people. At about this time we also adopted a policy of using automatic mutual aid response on our fires. We were among the first to realize that having more people, more water and more fire apparatus on scene faster was a tremendous benefit. This idea really got started by accident. We had a fire on a Saturday afternoon where the homeowner had called for both Cleveland and North Bay because he knew he was on the district line. Both departments arrived simultaneously and began to work. I noted that for first time in memory we could attack, ventilate, provide water supply and do salvage all at the same time as we were always taught we should. The result of this accident was we initiated automatic mutual aid agreements with all of out nearby neighbors that are still in effect twenty years later. The agreement calls for response of at least three additional fire departments on a reported structure fire without waiting for someone to arrive on scene and call for the help. The result has been some great saves on many of our fires as well as those in neighboring districts all of whom have similar set ups.
In the mid eighties it was once again new truck time. This time we went to Sanford in East Syracuse who constructed a very economical unit for us. The new 412 was diesel automatic with a 1000-gallon tank. The pump was a large series Hale mid-ship with an additional rear intake provided. We tested the new pumper in the fall of 1984 and pumped 2,000 gpm. double the rated capacity for its pump. Once again the color was bright yellow with a white top. We rebuilt this unit in 1995 as a rescue pumper with a new body and it served a full twenty years for us.
In the middle 80’s we started an ambitious program of building our own tankers. This was done as a result of needing to move water to rural fires. We started with a couple of old used oil trucks, which were repaired, repainted and provided with large dump valves. This quickly converted to air operated valves remotely controlled by the driver from the cab. One of these would unload 2200 gallons in 40 seconds without the driver leaving his seat. This enhanced water supply for our fires as well as many neighboring departments.
In 1985 Jack Cottet assumed the Chief’s position for three years followed by Rod Welton in 1987 and 1988. Jack Cottet resumed as Chief in 1989. We continued with our tanker building program culminating in the creation of the “ultimate tanker” in 1990. This was a diesel Ford Tilt cab truck with three remote air controlled 16 in. square dump valves. The truck was purposely built with a short wheelbase to allow good maneuverability.

At this point in about 1988 we found that the Ward Lafrance pumper we had purchased in the seventies was a victim of rust. This condition common to fire trucks built in the 70’s and we found it also existed in our Rescue truck. The bottom line was needed to replace two trucks at once and had very limited funds. We opted to combine the two functions in one and create what was being called a rescue pumper. We searched for a suitable used truck finding it in the Gates Fire District outside Rochester. The new unit was a 1978 Ford tilt cab with crew canopy and a body built by Sanford that full compartments on both sides. With a little rebuilding we were ready for the experiment. The question was could a pumper be both a rescue truck and a good pumper? The answer was yes and we have stuck with that concept since about 1988.
In 1992 we had an event that every fire department dreads. The fire alert tones on our radios were followed by “Cleveland, you have a fire in your station.” We arrived to find flames breaking through the aluminum roof adjacent to the masonry firewall that divides the apparatus area from the social hall. Vehicles were quickly moved outside and hooked up to the hydrants and a two in. line advanced through the fire doors. With less than 500 gallons of water the fire was controlled but not before it did a lot of damage. The result was we were out of the Bingo business. Bingo had been declining as a revenue source for several years and this fire put us at a point of having to make some serious decisions. We had insurance coverage but to bring the building up to meet required building codes for a place of public assembly we would have had to spend a huge amount more. We decided to rebuild, take the insurance money and pay off the mortgage and do the work of rebuilding ourselves. Thus began a busy few weeks in which the carpentry, electrical and other skills we jointly possessed were put to the test. The end result was a rebuilt station that has a small meeting room a TV lounge, offices, bunk rooms and a small museum space.
Our own fire was followed closely by a major fire in the village. A building we had feared for years was the App building located on Division St.at Rt. 49. This building was over 100 years old and dry as tinder. It burned in an arson fire that threatened other nearby buildings and gave us some very tense moments.
1994 saw us preparing specs. to purchase two new trucks. We opted to return to commercial type chassis units and tightened our belt in several ways to allow us to buy a Saulbury 1500 gpm rear mounted pumper on a Freightliner chassis and a front mount pump on a tanker also from Saulsbury. The pump on this tanker is rated at 1250 gpm and it carries 2,000 gallons. These rigs were very unusual to say the least. The pumper has full height roll up doors on both sides with four cross lays in the compartment behind the cab. Both rigs carry 1500 ft. of 5 in. supply hose and the tanker responds to all calls with the pump as a sort of two piece company. The tanker has the sole objective of getting water to the pumper, either by drafting, laying to or from hydrants or hauling water in a dump and go operation.
The pumper was designed so that everything is carried inside including ladders to protect equipment from inclement weather and loss. On the top of the pumper is an electric remote controlled master stream nozzle. The rear holds a suction manifold with five 5-in. diameter suction connections and has discharges several attack lines.
As we made our way through the nineties we entered another new era, the mini- pumper time. We were able to purchase a brand new Chevrolet one ton truck with a compartmented type body under state bid. To this new rig was added a rebuilt 1963 front mount pump and a small tank. This rig probably holds the record for number of times redone and reworked as we learn more and more about how useful it is to have a small vehicle like this one. It is truly one of our workhorses and has saved us lots of work over the years in reaching hard to access areas and providing water in remote locations.
We loaded the mini with 1500 ft. of used 3.5-in. hose, a portable generator deluge gun, air packs and hand tools, - “can you spell overload”? Then we go on a campaign to reduce the weight by removing things but after a while it creeps back up. The bottom line is it our “Hail Mary Pumper” because it comes through when we need it in a pinch.
Our EMS response has always been as a back up to the primary provider, which is North Shore Ambulance, but we have maintained our training and equipment to support that job as needed. We first purchased a medical response vehicle in 1989 with a Suburban set up as personnel carrier and medical unit. This was replaced in 2000 by a one ton GMC four wheel drive pick up.
Just after delivery of the new trucks in 1995 we encountered what is surely our most severe fire to date. On a cold April afternoon on his last day in office Chief John Hinds found a working fire at the MacIntosh pallet factory. The fire was in a 300 ft. long metal Quonset hut type building that was filled with wooden pallets. These were dried hardwood pallets and made a nearly perfect class fuel for a fire. The building was totally surrounded with exterior storage of pallets and the wind was from the West at 35 mph. This fire burned for hours and resulted in total destruction. We used nearly every fire department in the eastern part of our county as well as several from Oneida County and the Madison County tanker task force. In all there were 28 fire departments involved in one way or another and thousands of gallons of water was applied but to little avail. The building and most of the pallets were destroyed but the fire was contained on site and did
no other damage. It was our first experience with a large-scale major disaster and it was a great learning experience. We learned valuable lessons concerning staging areas and water supply that are borne out in many of the newer training courses on these subjects.
As the nineties went by we concentrated hard on training and completing the conversion of our 1984 Sanford to be a rescue pumper. This rig received a new RD Murray stainless body with huge compartments having roll up doors.
During this time frame several members attended the Harrisburg Pa. Fire expo. And learned many valuable lessons concerning equipment storage and mounting from the innovative fire departments in Pennsylvania.
Another major effort during this time has been radio communications. For years we relied on the Oswego County radio system but with advent of newer system in 1997 we found it to be unreliable due to the distance we are located from transmitting towers. Consequently we increased our use of the Oneida County high band system and purchased many portable and truck mounted radios to transmit on our high band frequency. This conversion has proven very useful and continues to date.
Our newest apparatus efforts started in 1994 as part of our normal ten year apparatus replacement program. Our decision this time was a return to custom chassis apparatus with the purchase of two new American La France program rescue pumpers. These rigs have 1500 gpm. pumps 1,000 gallon tanks and bodies with huge compartments. We are still in the process of putting the rigs in service but it appears they will be as useful and innovative as the ones they replace. One thing that is different is the color, which is shiny jet black with extensive gold and white striping. It should surprise no one that we selected black as the color --- we have always been different and probably always will be.