Trivia question: What town organization is 90 years old, has been protecting our town and homes during even the fiercest of storms, answered more than 1,000 calls last year and is comprised of all volunteers? If you answered the Cos Cob Fire Police Patrol, you are correct.
Fortunately, if you were wrong, they are a nice group of people and will always give you the opportunity to get to know them. But do not wait until they show up on your doorstep unannounced. Get to know them now.
What is the Cos Cob Fire Police Patrol, you may be wondering? Well, the original concept of the Fire Patrol dates back to the New York Board of Fire Underwriters of the early 1800’s. The New York Board of Fire Underwriters was an organization that insured personal and business property. Their job was to patrol the streets of New York City in search of fires. If a fire was discovered, they sounded off ratchets—a high-pitched screech—to warn people in the building or homes to evacuate to safety. Another fire patrolman would then run and get the patrol wagon, which contained fire salvage equipment. The fire patrol would assist in saving valuables items in the buildings. As a result, the patrol received its name from the Fire Insurance Industry. Since then, it has been tradition for fire patrol members to wear red fire helmets to distinguish themselves at the fire scene, a tradition that continues today.
Our Cos Cob Fire Police Patrol was established in November 1927, after members of the Cos Cob Volunteer Fire Company identified the need for a separate fire salvage and scene control company. On May 1, 1928 the Cos Cob Fire Police Patrol was officially organized and held its first meeting with the election of James Tomney as captain, chief officer. Since then it has had a rich, intertwined history as part of our whole community, not just Cos Cob.
Today, the patrol is an all-volunteer company that operates within the structure of the Greenwich Fire Department. The patrol provides many valuable services to residents and first responders including firefighting, salvage operations, traffic operations and scene and lighting control at emergency calls. When your basement floods and you call the Fire Department, it is actually the Patrol that comes to the rescue. The patrol has its own command staff, all of whom are highly trained (in fact every member of the patrol must go through rigorous training), and led by Brian Kelly.
The patrol is incredibly active. Last year alone, it responded to more than 1,000 emergency calls representing more than 2,000 volunteer hours. In addition to service members—associate members, honorary and veteran members—collectively volunteered more than 5,000 hours to the town and its citizens through community outreach, support, meetings and training. The numbers are very impressive, especially when you consider that there are 45 members of the patrol. This is a group of dedicated volunteers.
When the fire patrols first began in New York City they were funded by a two percent fire tax levied on all commercial structures in the city. We certainly do not want another tax on anything in Greenwich, but we do need to support our patrol. If you are free Saturday night, consider attending their benefit at Greenwich Country Day School. Visit their website for more information at www.cfpp.org. They are a 501(c)(3), so donations are tax deductible.
Organizations like the Cos Cob Fire Police Patrol are one of the things that make Greenwich so special. It is our citizens, our neighbors, caring about our community enough to volunteer their time. And when you consider the training involved (100 hours or more), the fact that they are volunteers and the time needed when incidents occur we all our them a debt of gratitude and appreciation. Thank you Cos Cob Fire Police Patrol for all that you do for our community. We hope your benefit this weekend is a huge success.
