HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT

The first organized meeting, incorporation, and designation of officers occurred in 1947, but the Yulan Fire Department actually began in late 1946. A young man from the West Hempstead Long Island Fire Department, Joe Wulforst, was vacationing in Yulan. He began talking with the locals about the formation of a volunteer fire company. Until this point, fire protection and rescue coverage had been provided by neighboring towns of Shohola and Narrowsburg with support coming from as far away as Sparrowbush.

In December of 1946, Joe brought a 1927 Seagrave pumper up to Yulan from West Hempstead. Three of Yulan's founding fathers dug into their own pockets to pay about three-hundred dollars for the truck which was housed in Lou Hensel's Garage. Lou went on to become Yulan Fire Department's First Chief. Lou's garage is now the Yulan Service Station: owned and operated by Lou's grandson Jeff Haas, himself a past chief.

With the purchase of a truck, an official Fire House was now in order. A $10,000 mortgage was taken in March 1948 to purchase land and begin the building of the Yulan Firehouse. It was completed two years later after much hard work by volunteer labor.

The firehouse was completed in 1950, which proved to be a morale boosting year for the department. Not only was the first firehouse completed, but the old Seagrave, Yulan's first truck, brought home two trophies from the Sullivan County tournament at Liberty.

A satellite station, built with donations of material and labor was erected in Eldred on town owned property in 1952. The building was to be shared with the American Legion Ambulance Corp. Also during that year, the property that is now the Yulan Ball Field, was purchased.

A second satellite station was completed in 1955 in Barryville on land donated by Arthur Rohman. This was the year of the BIG FLOOD. The efforts of the Yulan Fire Department during this disaster resulted in Governor Harriman stopping at the Yulan Four corners and thanking the men lined up for review. A momentous day for a department incorporated for less than ten years.

Former Chief Charles Ort broke his artificial leg at a fire in 1956. Thanks to the legal efforts and assistance of Honorable Judge Lawrence H. Cooke, a precedent was set and the compensation laws amended to allow for payment for prosthesis.

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Yulan Fire Department purchased its first new truck in 1957: a Chevrolet commercial truck chassis on which the members installed a 1,200 gallon tank and portable pump. Prior to this purchase, all of Yulan's trucks had been second hand. The fleet included a 1940 International, 1936, 41 & 46 Macks and a 1941 Seagrave along with the original 27 Seagrave and the Army surplus tanker which was replaced in 1959 by a second new truck, a Ford H&H tanker. The Department's first emergency truck was Ford panel purchased in 1961, a far cry from the current 2004 Ford F 550 4 wheel drive rescue which includes the jaws of life, a light tower, and many specialized tools. Yulan's first mini-pumper, a 1967 Chevy 4 wheel drive with front mounted pump was purchased in 1968. This truck was replaced by a 1995 4 Guys Ford which also doubles as a brush truck and secondary rescue truck.

The department entered the age of electronics and dispatching with the purchase of Home Alerting Plectrons in 1974 and a single emergency number was in use for the Town of Highland. This number was shared with the Highland Lake Fire Department. Rental of tents each year for the Clam Bake at the ball field was costly and lack of shelter for other affairs prompted the purchase of additional land and construction of the large covered area and concession building in 1977, a move which was useful not only to the department but to many other community members who utilize the field as well.

Thanks to the donation of men and machinery by Local 825 Operating Engineers, a portion of the Ball Field was graded to accommodate a second baseball diamond for use by local youth little leaguers. This portion of the field was to be later named the Edwin Martin Memorial Field, following the untimely death of trustee Ed Martin.

1980S TO THE PRESENT

A three-bay enlargement was completed on the Yulan Fire House in 1985, a definite benefit for larger trucks and larger crowds at the department's many dinners. The annual Corned Beef and Cabbage dinner cooked by Chet Oset is a custom of the department since inception and a proud tradition for the community at large.

Firemen are firemen, right? Wrong, that classification for YFD personnel was changed to firefighter in 1986 with the admission to Yulan's ranks of Nancy Hofaker, the department's first female firefighter.

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A 1986 E-One 1500 GPM pumper, Yulan's first new pumper, made the department no longer feel like the youngest child in the family; always receiving hand-me downs, we had grown to be able to purchase new rather then second-hand equipment. Yulan has always considered the Victory Chemical Engine and Hose Company No. 1 of West Hempstead as both the Patron Saint and Big Brother of our Department. That feeling was indeed deepened when in 1988 they loaned us a Mack pumper for two months while one of our trucks was being repaired.

Efforts by the Town of Highland to build a new Emergency Services building in Eldred came to fruition in 1989 when a new and much larger building was completed and shared by the Yulan Fire Department and the American Legion Ambulance Service. This cohabitation lasted until 2004 when the American Legion built their very own base of operations. Today Yulan shares the Emergency Services building with a new neighbor, the Sullivan County Sheriff's Department.

In early 2000's the Yulan Fire Department took over management of the annual Von Steuben Festival held each year in September. This event is a large community day which includes a parade, food vendors, craft booths, rides, and fun for the whole family. Von Steuben Day's events replaced the steak and chicken bakes and is now Yulan's main fund raiser for the year.

Fire Departments, both volunteer and paid, are a nucleus of organized and well trained people and for that reason are usually the first to be called on in any emergency, whether it be a fire, flood, accident, building collapse, or rescue. YFD has experienced all of these and a few rather unusual calls. Our Chief's reports through the years have listed all types including the customary cellar pump outs, downed wires, river rescues, and cat in the tree, but a few of the more unusual included dogs through the ice, a bear in the lawn, bees in the tree, and the mysterious light in the sky.

The Yulan Fire Department has had its ups and downs during our first 60 years and we have not been without the customary problems experienced by most departments of recruitment and retention of volunteers; the transition from generation to generation; lack of help at fund raising activities, etc. However, through it all we have managed not only to survive, but to grow from a single second-hand truck company to a department boasting of six modern, well equipped trucks manned by well trained personnel dedicated to preservation of life and property in our community. For this, we thank not only our Firematic and Administrative leaders over the last six decades, but the members who unselfishly give of their time and effort, our Ladies Auxiliary who have supported us 100%, and last but far from least, the people whom we serve and who have been there for us with donations and attendance at our functions.