The Fire Department Bell Saga
by Allan R. Way, Company Historian

In the mid 1880's, James Bearing acquired the Oppie home on Main Street at what is now the entrance to the Old Post Mall. This house was subsequently purchased by James Adriance, who was the Fishkill Postmaster during the 1940’s and 1950’s. That house was razed in the 1980's and replaced with the professional office building that is on the left as you enter Taylor Lane from Main Street.

Anyhow, when Bearing remodeled the buildings, he took down a small bell that had been hung on one of his barns for some 25 years and gave it to the Fire Department. David M. Horton built a cupola on the roof of the engine house, which at this time was on Robinson Street, and hung the bell in it. For 20 years after, this was the Department Fire Alarm.

However, many folks were not satisfied with the bell. They said that its tone was not deep enough and, it lacked volume. A locomotive that passed through Fishkill several times a day had a bell of almost identical sound. And, more than once, a fireman or two would respond to the firehouse thinking that there was an alarm.

In 1906, PECo asked for a new bell with more power and better tone. A committee was appointed to procure one. They looked at bells in the area and did not find anything that appealed to them. The committee corresponded with the Meneeley Bell Foundry in Troy, New York, who informed PECo that they had two used bells of their manufacture that had been on fire houses in Lansingburgh. They would sell one of them to us for $40. The Fire Company placed the order using its own funds for the purchase.

When the bell arrived, it was found to be too large for the cupola. A decision was made to enlarge the cupola and place a flag staff on top of it. PECo charter member George S. Horton was given the contract. He hired his brother-in-law, David M. Horton, to do the work. A drop curtain roller, formerly on the stage of the old Academy Hall and donated by the trustees of the school district, greatly facilitated the raising and lowering of the flag from the ground. The new bell performed very well for a time. But, in 1910, when the new school house was erected, its new bell, dedicated to the memory of the late Oliver W. Barnes, resembled the fire house bell so closely that confusion again was caused. The company struggled with the confusion, straining to hear from which direction the sound of a bell was coming. Finally, in October, 1927, the Company installed its first electric siren atop a specially built steel tower next to the fire house.

The Meneeley Foundry bell is today displayed at the base of our flag pole at the Main Street Fire Station as memorial to all of Fishkill’s deceased firefighters.

The memorial was constructed in the 1960’s by members of the fire company. The bell was refurbished by the Tallix Foundry in Beacon, NY in 2000. It is tolled during the passing of funeral processions for deceased Fishkill firefighters and on certain other solemn or patriotic occasions.