Two Firehouses in One Town Spark Consolidation Debate

A routine public hearing and proposal before the Oyster Bay Town Board Tuesday turned into a discussion about combining fire services in the hamlet of Oyster Bay, where two separate fire departments have served the community for a century.

Oyster Bay Fire Company No. 1 had proposed its purchase of a property adjacent to the firehouse on South Street in the hamlet of Oyster Bay, the northern end of Route 106. The company wants the property for storage and for the potential of reorienting it's main building to allow fire trucks to avoid pulling directly into traffic on South Street.

A public hearing was scheduled Tuesday morning that was expected to be routine. The fire company had the money in its budget for the purchase and merely needed a nod from the Town Board.

Instead, Peter MacKinnon, the attorney for the exclusive villages of Cove Neck and Oyster Bay Cove, asked the board to table the proposal and to instead use it a springboard for consolidating Oyster Bay's fire companies.

"Having two fire companies in a small locality is not heading us in the direction of fire department consolidation," MacKinnon said. "Taking into consideration the current (political) climate, the economic advantages of consolidation is what the taxpayers are looking for."

Since the late 19th Century, two fire companies have served the Oyster Bay area, a diverse community that includes Gold Coast mansions and low-income housing. It is also home to the "Summer White House" of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. President. The other fire company in question, known as the Atlantic Steamers, is located within walking distance of Oyster Bay Company No. 1.

Both companies responded to nearly 900 calls last year. Both have about 80 volunteer members. Both cover an area that includes Oyster Bay, Oyster Bay Cove, Cove Neck, and parts of Mill Neck and Laurel Hollow.

For years, both companies have responded to the same fires and emergencies and worked side by side with nothing more than friendly rivalry between them, firefighters from both companies said Tuesday. Their organizations and leadership, however, are separate.

MacKinnon argued that the villages he represents account for nearly 50 percent of the fire departments' budgets. He stressed he was not criticizing the firefighters who serve those companies.

Supervisor John Venditto expressed concerns about delaying the purchase. A time issue was pressing; the closing on the South Street property is scheduled for Thursday and couldn't go forward without the town's OK.

"But I'm not sure the town should take such a drastic step of usurping the judgement of the fire department," Venditto said, pointing to the fact that the purchase was included in the department's budget, which was already approved by the town.

"We have always counted on the fire departments to do the right thing and I just don't know if this a springboard for consolidation," he said.

Oyster Bay Fire Chief Anthony DeCarolis was called to the meeting when the controversy began and arrived in the middle of the discussion. He told the board of the need for the new property and that his company responded to 900 calls last year.

And, he said, he was not against a future consolidation of the two Oyster Bay companies.

Following a brief executive session, the seven board members passed the resolution in question unanimously.

Venditto said he would call a meeting in the next 60 days to bring the various sides together in a discussion of consolidation.