OFD History
An excellent history of our organization was written by C. D. Harrington for the dedication of the Odessa Municipal Building and Fire Station in June of 1970. What follows is an updated version of that history.
Odessa formally became a village when it was incorporated by the Legislature in 1904.
On June 10, 1905, recognizing their responsibility for the protection of property in the village, the Village Board authorized the purchase of:
The "engine" was a pumper operated by man power with long handles on each side requiring the services of several men to perform the back breaking job. For nearby fires, it was hand drawn but for longer hauls, horses were called upon. This pumper is still in the possession of the Fire Department.
At that time there was no organized Fire Department so when the bell rang, all able bodied men turned out to fight the fire- with the "engine", with buckets, with enthusiasm and with much confusion.
LeGrand Couch, who was in charge of just about everything else for the village, took charge of the men and equipment. The Board rented part of the barn of Dr. Smith on Merchant Ave. for $18.00 per year for "the storage of the fire apparatus and for any other use as the village may see fit."
May 4, 1910, the Village Board passed a resolution:
WHEREAS, 24 persons...desire to become a Hose & Chemical Company to act as such in Odessa and...has presented to the Village Board a Certificate of Incorporation...pursuant to the Membership Corporation Law of the State of New York; be it RESOLVED that the Village Board consents to the incorporation of the Odessa Hose & Chemical Company Incorporated.
SO, ON MAY 4, 1910, THE ODESSA FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS BORN!
The new Department elected Roger Lynch as its first Chief and rented the rooms now occupied by the Odd Fellows as their first meeting place.
The new Odessa Opera House was built in 1911 and, in 1912, the equipment was moved to one half of the ground floor and meeting and recreation rooms were fitted out.
The Department was motorized in 1926 when a bond issue of $3500 was voted for the purchase of a Foamite Childs pumper mounted on a Reo chassis. The purchase price was $4000 and $1000 was spent for additional equipment. The additional $1500 was raised by subscription outside the village where people contributed generously to help secure the protection they needed. This modern, motorized equipment was the pride of the Odessa firemen and the envy of many a nearby community.
For several years, no charge was made for aid to areas outside the village but eventually, it was felt the obligation to those people who had made the equipment possible had been paid. This fact, and the increasing cost of maintaining and operating the Department, made it necessary to charge the municipalities outside the village for fire protection. Now, the Odessa Fire Department serves, under contract, the Town of Catharine, most of the Town of Cayuta and parts of the Towns of Montour, Hector and Veteran. Throughout this area and in others where they have been called for help under mutual aid, they have gained an enviable reputation for prompt and efficient action when action is urgently needed.
Because of the large area served, Odessa had become one of the best equipped and best organized Departments in the territory. In 1970 they possessed a 750 gallon-per-minute pumper carrying 400 gallons of water, a 500 gpm pumper carrying 300 gallons, a 1000 gallon tank truck, a four wheel drive pumper that would travel on practically any terrain and a rescue truck carrying additional equipment and fitted for rescue and first aid work. In addition to the mobile units, they had a portable pump, a portable flood light system with generator, a smoke ejector, a resuscitator with oxygen and masks for entering burning buildings.
The rescue truck and the tank truck were purchased and equipped by the firemen with money secured in various fund raising projects in which they had heart warming support from the people they served. All the portable equipment and other supplies were gained in the same manner. All mobile units were radio equipped and the Department had portable radios to communicate with the base station in Watkins Glen, with each other, with assisting departments and with the home station.
The Chiefs succeeding Roger Lynch have been: Lewis Ervay, Lyman DePew, LeGrand Couch, Warren Lyon, Phineas Catlin, Alfred States, Warren States, John VanBuskirk, James Darling, Minor Leonard, Clifford Rounds, Eugene Gardiner, Donald Riley, Jerry Harrington, David Maine, Dwight Westlake, Floyd Goodrich, Richard Churches(78-83), William Bulkley(83-85), Thomas Peters(85-87), Robert E. Franklin(87-88), Greg Phenes(88-91), Robert Burns(91-94), Robert J. Franklin(94-07), and present Chief John Jelliff. All of these firefighters have contributed immeasurably to the continuing record of service and dedication to the needs of the community. The proficiency of the Odessa Fire Department is the result of this dedicated service and the loyalty of the firefighters who have served under them and supported them so wholeheartedly. Contributing too are the countless hours of training to maintain and advance firefighting, rescue and EMS skills.
We need your help
Especially as we prepare for our 100 year anniversary, but also in the interest of maintaining an accurate history, we are asking for our community's assistance in gathering information, newspaper clippings, and memorabilia. Please contact the Webmaster or the station if you have items to share, and Thank You.