The History of Beacon Hose

Beacon Hose is Beacon Falls.

Beacon Hose Co. No. 1 is the volunteer fire department, emergency medical service, and rescue provider of Beacon Falls, Conn. We’ve protected and served our town for more than 125 years — and we embrace that responsibility as we move into the future.

We take pride in the fact that we’re the centerpiece of the most beautiful town in the Naugatuck Valley. Not only do we respond to 250-300 fire/rescue calls and 800-1,000 EMS calls per year, but we also host dozens of community events and support countless causes throughout the year. If there’s something happening in Beacon Falls, you can be sure that Beacon Hose is involved.

The Early Years

Beacon Hose Co. No. 1 was formed on May 11, 1899. It was organized by 20 men in the cutting room of the Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company three months after a fire razed all the buildings of the nearby Homer D. Bronson Company. Any members on the roll call as of Jan. 1, 1900 were deemed charter members. The first firehouse was on the Rubber Shoe Company’s main complex on North Main Street. A few years later, Beacon Hose moved across the street into the Rubber Shoe Company’s Recreation Club building, behind the First National Store (just south of the bridge).

Beacon Hose’s Timeline

Take a look through 125 years of Beacon Hose’s history through newspaper and photo archives. This timeline is best viewed by entering full-screen mode (top right) and zooming.

In the early days, Beacon Hose was headed by a “foreman” (the title wasn’t changed to “chief” in our by-laws until May 1951). Our first foreman was George Butz, who served from 1899-1906, and his first assistant was Ernest J. Stevens. The first major fire on record was a 1904 blaze in the Rubber Shoe Company’s offices. In 1906, the parent company of the Rubber Shoe Company asked Butz to organize a fire department at its Indiana location. T. Bart Howell became Beacon Hose’s second foreman in 1906. In 1907, William “Pop” Lee Sr. began his record 43-year tenure as foreman.

The town installed its first fire hydrants in 1916. In 1921, the United States Rubber Company sold a building on North Main Street to the Town of Beacon Falls for use as Town Hall; in 1922, Beacon Hose moved into the building — known as the “hose house” — and occupied the first floor. Beacon Hose Co. No. 1 officially incorporated with the state in March 1930. In May 1956, the town turned over the entire building to Beacon Hose. The present firehouse was built here, on the grounds formerly occupied by the Town Park and the Beacon Falls Community Recreation Club, in 1969 at a cost of $189,000 ($1.65 million in 2025 dollars). Walter Muroff was chairman of the building committee with Chief Roger Brennan as co-chairman. The old firehouse, which stood in what is now our south parking lot, was demolished in the 1980s.

Throughout the 126-year history of Beacon Hose, the department has been served by 22 chiefs. In that auspicious group, there are grandfathers, fathers and sons, brothers and cousins, neighbors and friends. The current chief is Brian DeGeorge, who was elected in 2017 after previously serving from 2005-09. Membership in the department has always been, and continues to be, a very proud family tradition to many.

A Rich Firefighting Tradition

Firefighters past and present all have at least one incident that stands out above the rest: rescues during the Flood of 1955, week-long wildfires in the Naugatuck State Forest, all-night blazes at the old Beacon Falls railroad station and Rimmon Hill meatpacking facility, fires at the White Eagle and Beacon Falls Bakery, a dump truck rollover extrication on Oak Drive, and 120-plus responses after the 2018 tornado only scratch the surface among tens of thousands of calls over the years.

Scenes from Memorable Calls

The fire apparatus used by Beacon Hose has changed dramatically over time. Our first apparatus in 1899 was a hand-drawn cart. Our first motorized vehicle was a 1919 Ford pumper, followed by a 1929 Seagrave Suburbanite engine, a converted 1941 Dodge tanker from World War II, and many others. The cost of a fire apparatus has increased tremendously, as well. The 1929 Seagrave cost $6,650 ($124,366 in 2025); nearly 100 years later, its front-line engine successor, a 2023 Pierce Saber, cost about $650,000 ($682,205 in 2025).

Beacon Hose currently has two engines, a tanker, a ladder truck, a rescue truck, a brush truck, three ambulances, two all-terrain vehicle, a boat, a chief’s car, an assistant chief’s car, an EMS fly car, an EMS captain’s car, a utility truck, a brush trailer, a special operations trailer, and a traffic trailer.

The pride of the department is our 1929 Seagrave Suburbanite engine. Originally traded in when purchasing a new pumper in the 1950s, the membership, realizing the historical significance of the engine, bought it back from the dealer. Beacon Hose funded a complete restoration of the Seagrave in time for Beacon Falls’ 1971 centennial parade. We are proud to say that our beloved Seagrave is a multiple-time winner of the Connecticut State Firefighters Association Convention Parade trophy as the Best Appearing Antique Motorized Apparatus.  

Our carnival and parade, hosted annually since 1963, is an opportunity for Beacon Hose to share our department’s pride with our neighbors. The early years of our carnival were also when Beacon Hose became known as the “Home of the Bologna Sandwich.” At the time, it was customary to provide a variety of sandwiches to visiting firefighters after marching in a parade. But one year in the mid-1960s, the Beacon Hose “sandwich brigade” decided to save time and only make bologna sandwiches. That tradition, along with Billy’s Spring Water, has survived the test of time.

Innovators in EMS

Beacon Hose’s first ambulance, a 1937 Packard hearse, was donated by the Buckmiller family in October 1949. In 1953, Beacon Hose purchased a used Cadillac ambulance from Naugatuck. We sold the original Packard ambulance to Oxford for $1 to help start its own ambulance service.

Beacon Hose has always been a pioneer in local EMS: Not only did we have members in Connecticut’s first EMT classes in the 1970s, but Beacon Hose was also the first service in our region to employ paramedic intercepts, carry AEDs, use 12-lead ECGs, and more. The first female EMS member joined in 1977, and Laura Minnick became the first female ambulance director in 2002. In 2007, needing to adapt to the changing nature of the industry, Beacon Hose hired its first daytime EMTs/firefighters to provide weekday coverage. Otherwise, save for some stipends, Beacon Hose continues to provide all-volunteer emergency services.

Remembering the Fallen

Sadly, Beacon Hose has suffered the losses of four members in line-of-duty deaths: Capt. Wilbur “Webb” Wheeler in 1979, Chief Joseph Daddona in 1986, Chief Robert A. Cole in 1991, and Past Asst. Chief Kevin Swan in 2010. These men are all honored at the National Fallen Firefighters Memorial in Emmitsburg, Md. and the Connecticut State Firefighters Memorial in Windsor Locks.

It is rare for a department and a community of our size to suffer so many line-of-duty losses. In fact, Beacon Hose has suffered more line-of-duty deaths than any volunteer fire department in Connecticut. All four men were integral and highly respected leaders of our department, and their legacy continues to this day.

Stories of Service

We’ve had plenty of proud moments in our company’s history where our service extended beyond Beacon Falls. One came in June 1985, when a group of Beacon Hose members delivered tornado relief supplies to Beaver Falls, Pa., a small town selected by the department for its similar name. The relief mission, which coincided with the 30th anniversary of Beacon Falls’ own Flood of ’55, made national headlines.

In the midst of national tragedy on Sept. 12, 2001, a team of Beacon Hose volunteers rounded up relief supplies and drove all the way to Ground Zero to aid rescue workers after the terrorist attacks in New York City. That week was also memorable for the giant American flag that our members painted on the pavement in front of our firehouse. Our apparatuses drove out of the back of the firehouse until the painted flag eventually wore away.

Another memorable week in Beacon Hose history happened late in the summer of 2017, when another crew of Beacon Hose members (joined by a pair from Citizens’ Engine Co. No. 2 of Seymour) trekked down to Texas to deliver relief supplies to those affected by Hurricane Harvey. In just about 30 hours, our community collected more than $250,000 worth of relief supplies, all of which was sorted, packaged, and loaded by our volunteers. Goods were hand-delivered to the people who needed them the most in Galena Park, Houston, Katy, and Port Arthur, Texas.  

Beacon Hose gained international media recognition for rescuing 19 people and a dog from the Brookside Inn Restaurant and an adjacent apartment during a thousand-year flood in Oxford on Aug. 18, 2024. Crews used Truck 6’s 107-foot aerial ladder as a bridge to safely evacuate all victims over raging floodwaters from the Little River.

CSFA Hall of Famers

Amid all the outstanding work done by our volunteers every day, it’s not often that individuals get singled out for the recognition they deserve. One exception came in 2018, when Past Chief Ted Smith was enshrined in the Connecticut State Firefighters Association Hall of Fame. Smith joined our department in 1970, became one of our first EMTs, and served as a Beacon Hose officer for nearly 15 years, including his tenure as chief from 1997-2000. Nobody in the history of Beacon Hose was more impactful than Chief Smith, who was not only extraordinarily dedicated to our company but also advocated for the fire service throughout the Naugatuck Valley and Connecticut.

Beacon Hose gained another CSFA Hall of Fame inductee in 2020 when Past Chief James Trzaski was selected for the honor. Trzaski joined Beacon Hose in 1985 and served as chief of our department from 2014-17 in addition to a career as a firefighter and chief in towns such as Naugatuck and Middletown, a fire and EMS instructor throughout the state, and an advocate for the fire service at the government level. Trzaski was also named the 2017 CSFA Firefighter of the Year, the second Beacon Hose member to win that award after Past Chief Harold Lennon in 1986.

Beacon Hose Today

Beacon Hose serves the community with around-the-clock fire protection, emergency medical services, and rescue operations. Fire operations continue to be all-volunteer, with the exception of a town-funded stipend for the chief and small pay-per-call stipends. Beacon Hose employs two full-time EMT/firefighters Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. daily, funded through EMS billing. Overnight and weekend calls are staffed by dedicated volunteer crews who receive stipends per call and shift.

The department also supplies mutual aid to area towns, including Naugatuck, Seymour, Oxford, and Bethany. Volunteers remain dedicated to training and equipment maintenance on a weekly basis, ensuring skilled and prepared responses in case of emergency. All funds used for emergency equipment, training, and maintenance are included in the town’s municipal budget.

As a cornerstone of the community, Beacon Hose hosts countless events throughout the year. The crown jewel is our annual carnival and parade — it’s been the town’s biggest event since 1963, attracting an estimated 5,000 visitors and staging one of the state’s largest parades every June. Beacon Hose also hosts many community events, such as a Christmas parade, Easter egg hunt, Fire Prevention Week, and more events and fundraisers throughout the year.

Proceeds from our fundraisers help Beacon Hose give back to the community. We sponsor youth sports teams, the local Cub Scouts, scholarships at Long River Middle School and Woodland Regional High School, the annual Ron Barksdale Fishing Derby, the annual town Christmas lightings and bonfire, meals and gifts for less fortunate families during the holiday season, and much more.

Our membership of more than 75 volunteers from Beacon Falls and surrounding communities truly cares about the community in which we live. Our neighbors and friends know they can count on us, whether they face an emergency, need a helping hand, have a question, or want to enjoy an event with their families and friends. Beacon Hose stands ready to continue our service to the Town of Beacon Falls with the pledge to serve, protect, and help make Beacon Falls a safe and caring community in which to live.

After all, Beacon Hose is Beacon Falls.

Written by Kyle Brennan with contributions by departed Beacon Hose members Peter Christensen and Michael Krenesky. Photos from department and media archives.