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The Strang Hose Company is claimant of the distinction of being the first volunteer fire company in New York State to secure a piece of motorized equipment. They are Mechanicville's third regularly organized modern fire company and came into the department on November 9, 1893, with a roster of twenty-two volunteer smoke-eaters. The newly organized Strangs were assigned the ancient hand-drawn hose cart, then known as the "Washington No. 1" when they officially became a part of the department. In 1902, to prepare for the Tri-County Firemen's Convention parade, The Strangs purchased a $650 horse-drawn hose truck which served them until 1912. The Strangs then bought themselves out of horse-and-buggy bondage by securing a tricky Franklin air-cooled fire truck on February 3, 1912, beating the LaDows into the motor era by little more than a month. The Franklin did service until 1922. In 1922, the Strangs became the owners of a new International truck, an apparatus which served them until it was destroyed in a tragic railroad crossing accident in the fall of 1945. A Mack pumper followed, being replaced in 1973 by a Hahn pumper which had served the company until being placed into retirement in 2001.

The first baptism of fire for the Strangs came hot and abruptly at 1 A.M. on December 10, 1893, when the new firemen were routed out of bed for a fire in the LaDow Block on Park Avenue. The blaze started in the "fancy goods" store of E. A. Baker, but prompt action by the Strangs and LaDows apparently subdued the fire by 3 A. M. The fire blazed up again in the afternoon, and the job had to be done all over again. Damage was estimated at $2,237.74. The Strangs learned about fire fighting with a vengeance about a month later on January 17, 1894 when the company was called upon to assist in the control of the big opera house fire on Park Avenue. This blaze, one of the most serious in the history of the community, kept weary firemen laboring nearly seven hours to prevent wind-driven flames from destroying the business section of the village.

The Strang's first temporary quarters were in an old barn owned by E. E. Wood on Broadway. The scene of the company's first meeting was in the old Y.M.C.A. rooms on Park Avenue. In 1896 the company moved into a building on Howland Avenue (now North Third Avenue) which was erected through the efforts of Village President A. H. Barnes. The company also secured a lease for ten years on the ground in the rear of their fire house on which they built a large drill room connecting the hose house. Prior to the establishment of the electric telegraph alarm system, the bell in the tower of the Strang Hose Company tolled the warning of many a fire in the village, and several times since, when the electric alarm system had been temporarily out of service, it had again been used to summon the Strangs to fires.

Fire destroyed the 78 year old E. H. Strang Fire Station in the early hours of August 26, 1973. In the spring of 1976, the Strangs moved into their newly constructed home just two blocks north of their old station. Although the station is still active as Mechanicville Fire Department Station 2, in 2006 the Mechanicville Fire Department's members took the initiative to consolidate its five fire companies. As a result, the Strangs joined forces with the other four fire companies to serve the City as a unified fire department.

-The Mechanicville Fire Department would like to extend its appreciation to the work of John H. Maloney regarding the history of the department.