history

The Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department traces its history back to the founding of the Washington Hook, & Ladder Co. on September 27, 1882. The first firemen used buckets stored in sheds throughout town to protect the area from fire. In the late 1880's, striving to provide the finest service to the community, the company acquired a ladder cart and a building to house its equipment at Frost Avenue, and Central Avenue. Endeavoring to procure the newest technology to provide the best protection to the community the company purchased one of the few steam powered fire engines in the area in 1896.

In order to keep up with the growing demands of the community the Washington Hook & Ladder Co. reorganized into the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department on New Year's Day 1900. Realizing that more space was needed to house the fire department's equipment, the first Chief of Department, Thomas A. McWhiney, personally purchased a lot at the corner of Washington Avenue and Central Avenue and donated the land to the fire department on which to build a new firehouse. In 1902, work began on the core of the current firehouse. The building was built principally out of stone from the New York City subway project.

Over the years, the men of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department put their equipment to good use, notably responding to the crash of Eastern Airlines Flight 66 on Rockaway Blvd in 1975, rescuing four people from a house fire at 72 Lord Avenue (Lawrence) in 2000, and evacuating dozens of people trapped by flood waters during Sandy in 2012.

Today, the eighty volunteer firemen of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department continue the tradition of untiring commitment to their neighbors by responding to well over 1,000 calls each year, including house fires, motor vehicle accidents, ambulance calls, hazardous materials leaks and spills, water rescues, and calls for assistance from neighboring fire departments as far away as Hempstead and Great Neck.