Deputy Town Attorney Elizabeth Faughnan stood in front of the town board at the June 28 Town Of Oyster Bay Board Meeting to discuss a proposed contract with the East Norwich Fire Company No.1.
“We’re here today because of Town Law Section 184 which requires, if there is not a fire district with elected fire commissioners, it’s the town’s responsibility to provide for fire protection by entering into a contract with a fire company,” Faughnan said. “Here the fire company is East Norwich Fire Company No.1. We’ve had a contract with them for many years.”
Four municipalities, Faughnan said, bear the cost of the annual budget for this fire company; Town of Oyster Bay, the Village of Brookville, the Village of Muttontown and the Village of Upper Brookville.
“Recently, the villages re-examined the proportionate shares that each of the municipalities should pay,” Faughnan said. “And while it may appear that the Town of Oyster Bay’s portion, the cost of the contract, has increased, it’s only as the result of the fact that our proportion as against the other municipalities has increased. As a result, I come to you today requesting approval for a contract in the total amount not to exceed $388,916.”
According to the 2022 preliminary budget found on the town’s website, the town was allocating $291,105 to East Norwich Fire Protection.
The cost of the contract is not paid by the town residents at large, Faughnan said, rather it is paid by residents who live in the districts East Norwich Fire Company No.1 serves.
The East Norwich Fire Department is a volunteer fire company comprised of more than 75 active members. The company is located at 900 Oyster Bay Rd. in East Norwich. On May 11, 1912, the East Norwich Volunteer Fire Company No 1 inc. was formally chartered under the membership corporation act of the State of New York.
The East Norwich Fire Company is in the Fifth Battalion and covers approximately 10.2 square miles, which makes it the fifth largest Fire Protection District in Nassau County.
Their mission is to provide high quality fire protection and EMS services to those in the fire district, to respond as quickly and efficiently as possible to all calls for assistance, to constantly train and educate ourselves in our chosen field and to help educate the community in protecting itself.
—Additional information provided by the East Norwich Fire Company No.1
