W.L. Howland Chemical Company #5

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Organized and accepted as part of the fire department on November 24, 1904 the W.L. Howland Chemical Company is Mechanicville's youngest fire company. The Chemical Engine Company is now a misnamer since they are a pumper and hose company.

The Chemmies fought a long, bitter, and hard struggle with the Village Board in order to be accepted as a fire company. For two years the Village Board effectively blocked what they considered a "wild bunch" of young firemen, also known as "a bunch of hell-rasiers." Those youngsters, though, mostly 18 years of age, made a final assault on the trustees who were gathered around the long table in the J. L. Short Hook and Ladder Company rooms. The Howlands petitioned strongly on their last assault and forced the reluctant trustees to pick up their petition which had lain on the table for two years. It was an explosive meeting which forced an evening of decisions. At the same meeting, the fire department was hollering for a better sounding fire alarm system. The bewhiskered stalwarts buckled under the Chemmie attack. It was a concerted effort by the entire fire department who actually wanted a fire alarm system and really didn't care whether the Chemmies were accepted or not. On the other hand, the Chemmies didn't care whether there was a new fire alarm system or not as long as they were one of the companies responding. They pooled their efforts and the Chemmies, that night, were officially accepted into the fire department as a result of a 4-3 vote in their favor.

That night they had presented a petition signed by over 200 well-known citizens which made the village fathers feel that some one wanted them as part of the department. They had a listing of members which sounded like a roster of Mechanicville's outstanding citizens. The company was also named after a leading citizen and banker, William L. Howland. In addition, long before their organization into a formal company, the Chemmies were fighting fires as an unoffical company that started their existence as the "Strang Juniors," drilling at the Strang Hose House, and turning out to fires under the supervision of the officers of that company. As Strang Juniors, they had shown an excellent ability to fight fires and this reckless born of youth had over two years of fire training.

When the Chemmies became a company the village fathers said, "We have no funds to purchase any fire apparatus." This did not phase a company of youngsters, though, who raised by subscription enough to purchase a beautiful horse drawn hose wagon, complete with lanterns and tanks. It was pulled by a phlegmatic equine from "Sandy" Burke's livery stable as the "engine." There was no stepping on the starter to get the apparatus moving in those days, and members whose duty it was to secure the horse, gallop the drowsy animal to the fire house and harness it up, sometimes had their work cut out for them. The eventful change from horse to motor for the "Chemmies" came in 1914, when the company secured, again with their own funds, a large Brockway truck which was equipped with the latest chemical equipment. In 1967 the Chemmies purchased a new piece of apparatus which was manufactured by Ward LaFrance. Again in 1989, the Chemmies obtained their current apparatus, an Engine Tanker manufactured by Young.

The first public appearance in which the Chemmies were able to use their apparatus for a call turned out to be a "needless run" on the morning of December 19, 1904, answering a false alarm sounded from Box 42. But on February 27, 1905, the new firemen smelled smoke for the first time answering an alarm from Box 43 when an oil stove exploded at the Pietro Morocco Grill at Canal Street and Saratoga Avenue. Records show, though, that the fire was out by the time nervous bystanders thought to summon the department.

The original "Chemmy" house was a two story brick building located on Mabbett Street. In 1922, the company moved into the J. L. Short Hook and Ladder Company building on Francis Street after the hooks had moved downtown into City Hall. Later, to save money, the Hooks and Chemmies agreed to combine for a combination hook and ladder and hose-pumper truck to be housed in the Francis Street station. Each company was to keep its own identity. Several years later, the Chemmies again felt they could better serve with their own apparatus although there were no problems between them and the Hooks. The City indicated they were not about to purchase any new fire apparatus so the Chemmies raised their own funds, again, and purchased a second hand pumper. When residents of the Saratoga Avenue area complained that they were being cut off from fire protection by the blocked railroad crossings, the Howlands offered to re-locate across the tracks, provided the City build them a fire station. The new station was built and a new pumper purchased. The station was located on Viall Avenue in close proximity to the Strangs' station but was strategically positioned on the oppositte sides of the two sets of train tracks that sat to the North of the Strangs station. The positioning of this station provided a much faster respose to calls on the Northwest side of the City, especially when the tracks were occupied by a portion of the heavy train traffic that came through the City.

In 2001 their station was closed due to the belief of the city that there was no longer a need for three fire stations. Also, with the ability to access the Northwest side of the City made easier with the "overpass," fire apparatus have become more able to respond without running into as many obstacles on the tracks as had been in the past. Without an active station, The Chemmies have now moved their truck and equipment over to the Depot Sqaure Station and respond to alarms together with the Strangs.

During its career with the department, the Chemical Company has done much valuable work, scores of times answering still alarms to extinguish minor blazes with the chemical apparatus and preventing needless runs by the entire department. They have become a stabilizing factor in the area cut off by the rail crossings and an important safety factor for the modern Davenport Estates which adjoined them. They have also served as an experienced mutual aid company providing assistance to our neighboring communities. And so the Chemmies, "the orphans of 1904" have become an integral part of the modern Mechanicville Fire Department and its fire fighting history is long and honorable.


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