STANLEY HOSE COMPANY

In 1884, G. Saxton, C.H.Corbett, and W.E. Green were appointed by the citizens of Sherman, New York to solicit subscriptions to purchase a first-class fire engine, hose cart, and 650 feet of fire hose from Fredonia.  After the equipment had been purchased, the Sherman Fire Company No. 1 was formed with 33 members. Officers were Corbett, foreman; A.G. Saxton, fire assistant; F.L. Dutton, second assistant; T.J. Newell, secretary; and G.W. Strong, treasurer. A committee headed by B.F. Coffin was appointed to assist the firemen and to build water reservoirs

The fire departments engine was a double-handled hand pumper and hose cart which was housed in a building on Main Street which had an overhead bell.  Other fire companies formed in the village were the C.H. Corbett Co., formed in 1891 and the Corbett Hose Co., formed in 1897.  In the early 1900s, the village had three fire companies Corbett Hose Co., The Alerts, and Citizens Hook and Ladder. Competition ran high among the three companies to see which could get to the fire scene first. In 1924, the three companies consolidated to form the Sherman Fire Department

In 1946, the firemen noted the need for extra money for fire services and started fund-raising activities. Funds raised through these efforts made it possible for the department to improve fire protection without added tax burden. To allow for fundraising efforts, the Stanley Hose Company was incorporated as a part of the Sherman Fire Department and was named in honor of Frank Stanley Jr. who was killed in World War II. Members of the Stanley Hose Co. are also members of the Sherman Fire Department.  The Stanley Hose Co. actually operates the Sherman Fire Department with the Village of Sherman as its governing body as far as signing fire protection contracts with the towns of Sherman, Westfield, and Chautauqua.  The village owns and maintains a pumper and pays rent to the Stanley Hose Co. to house the pumper in the fire hall. All the remaining fire and emergency equipment and fire hall are owned by the Stanley Hose Co. 

The Stanley Hose Company is an all-volunteer fire department with 40 active members. The Stanley Hose Company serves the Village of Sherman, New York and the surrounding towns of Sherman, Chautauqua, and Westfield covering 76 square miles. Sherman is located in Chautauqua County, the western most county in New York State, 80 miles southwest of Buffalo.  Our department provides fire suppression, rescue, and ALS ambulance services.  Risks located in the Stanley Hose Company’s protection area include: a business district, an interstate highway, village, town, county, and state highway facilities, a waste water treatment plant and a village drinking water reservoir

Furthermore, we protect a K-12 school, four churches, a senior citizens housing complex, four lumber mills, numerous farms, a cattle feed mill, a waste transfer station, a twenty-six inch natural gas transmission pipeline, and state forest lands.  There are approximately 2,400 residents in our primary response area.  The Stanley Hose Co. averages approximately 400 calls per year.