We are proad of the Elsmere firefighters that been honored over the years. They each have been listed below.

1974       Past Chief Fred Webster
1981       Past Chief Ken McNary
1984       Hank Turner
1985       Past Chief George Kaufman
1986       Past Chief Tony Morrell
1987       Peter Merrill
1988       Pop Leonard
1989       Paul Millhausen, Peter Merrill, Robert Irish
1991       Jolly Ollie Palmer
1992       Kevin Shea
1993       Hank Sterling
1994       John T.  Pregent Jr.
1995       Paul Millhausen
1996       Ralf Wiegand
1997       Richard Brown
1998       James Reagan
1999       John Devine
2000       Past Chief Ken McNary
2001       Chief Ned Costigan
2002       Lt. Frank Wickham
2003       Simon Van Ryn
2004       Chief Kevin Shea
2005       Chief William H Webb, Jr.
2006       Peter Degnan
2007       Ariel Goodrich
2008       Chief William Webb, Jr.

Firefighter of the Year 2008 - Chief William Webb

Chief Webb joined the Elsmere Fire Company as a firefighter on June 27, 1985. He was elected Fire Company Treasurer in October 1987. He served as a Fire Lieutenant from April 1989 through April 1995. In April 1995, he was elected to the position of Fire Captain. He served in this capacity until December 1997. Chief Webb was elected 2nd Assistant Chief in December 1997 and served in that capacity until December 2003, when he was promoted to the rank of 1st Assistant Chief. In February 2004, he was elected to fill the position of Chief, left vacant by the untimely line of duty death of Chief Kevin M. Shea. Chief Webb continues to serve as the Department's Chief.

Chief Webb is a member of the Elsmere FAST Team and chairs the Fire Company's popular Fish Fry Dinner Committee, which many residents of the Town enjoy on four Friday evenings during February and March. He is also trained in Hazardous Materials Incident Command.

Chief Webb was commended for his brave actions during a fire at a local nursing home. At 3:01am on December 17, 2007, he responded to a report of a structure fire in an elderly resident's room. As one of the first firefighters to arrive, Chief Webb was able to make his way through a smoke filled wing of the nursing home to the elderly resident's room. Finding that sprinklers had extinguished the fire involving the resident's clothing and surroundings, he was able to remove the seriously burned resident from danger and further injury with the assistance of Bethlehem Police Officer Frank Muller.

Chief Webb also received this award at Post No. 1040 on March 7, 2005.

Firefighter of the Year 2007 - Ariel Goodrich

The Elsmere Fire Co. "A" Inc. is proud to recognize Ariel Goodrich as Man of the Year. A 13-year member of the Fire Co Ariel served for 10 years as the Fire Police Lieutenant. He is a quiet and unassuming person always at work behind the scenes of the Fire Co. He has helped to establish an administrative procedure to relieve some of the workload from the fire officers, so they can devote more time to their own individual responsibilities. He is always busy with the fire reports so the proper information is available to NYS and OFPC. He was instrumental in moving the fire reports and recording of service awards from paper to computer.

As Lieutenant he was in charge of maintaining M38 and M39 to be sure they are ready to respond to emergencies, whether the County calls them/or Haz-Mat or the Urban Search and Rescue Team calls. Ariel established a checkout system for portable radios and the radio batteries to eliminate many charging and repair problems that effect fire ground operations. Through the years as Fire Police Lieutenant he took many training classes such as Highway Safety-Fire Scene operations, Haz-Mat WMD Response, Intersection Accident Termination and Coping with Change in the Fire Service. With this knowledge he established many pre-plans for the most efficient means of traffic control at various locations within the Elsmere Fire District

He continues to Chair the newsletter committee known as the Firehorn where he gathers and edits information of interest to be distributed quarterly. And for many years he has been recognized annually with the most drill attendance.

A Past Chief who worked closely with Ariel was once quoted as saying he is "lucky to have a fast paced, aggressive and thorough person with private industry experience that knows how to cut through the BS and get things done. "

Firefighter of the Year 2006 - Peter Degnan Honored for Serving Our Nation

This year's Firefighter of the Year came to us through the Albany County Legislature sponsored Recruitment and Retention committee's 24-hour hotline. With an interest in joining and taking classes, he instantly signed up as a social member 3 weeks after his high school graduation. Within the next 30 days, he spent numerous hours at the firehouse captivating everything possible. In the following month, on August 26, 1999, he became an active Elsmere firefighter. Over the next six months, he fully immersed himself in all aspects of firefighting. He took classes, participated in training drills, and responded to a majority of his company's fire calls. In February 2000, he took a seven-month military leave for Basic Training, but upon his return, he immediately returned as an active firefighter, participating fully in his department, and doing what he loves the most, helping the residents of his community. He never stopped learning and improving his skills. He enrolled in classes for Hazardous Material Operations, Hazardous material Technician, Decontamination, and the very enduring FAST team. Throughout all of his firematic service, he somehow found the time to become an EMT and participate with the Delmar Rescue Squad. He sets an example as a firefighter, EMT, and brother. These are just some of the reasons why his peers recognized him.

His passion for service goes far beyond his firematice and community service. While in his first semester of College, he once again went on military leave, as he was ordered to Active Duty in the United States Military. He would spend the next 18 months serving his country. This Sergeant spent one year in Iraq, serving as an Engineering Technician Surveyor. He was stationed in Kirkuk at one of Sudan Hussein's private Air Force Bases, where he surveyed and built living quarters for the other units that were already there, and future troops that would eventually be stationed there. His job was to provide safe and livable quarters for the United States Military. During his Tour of Duty in Iraq, he was given a 2-week leave for R&R, and he returned home to reaffirm his passion.

After completing his Tour, he returned to Bethlehem, where he decided to continue his education. Although he is currently away at college, he always takes every opportunity to respond to emergencies while he is on break.

The firefighters in Bethlehem come from many backgrounds, but certainly share some common values and common goals: particularly when it comes to protecting our neighborhoods and keeping our residents safe. This individual goes beyond his community, in his service to our country, and I can't think of a more fitting venue to honor such an individual than this American Legion, where so many have served with the same conviction.

This award is given to volunteer firefighters who not only perform admirably on the job but also are heavily involved in their respective communities, and in that regard, Pete Degnan was the logical choice.

Pete Degnan has served the Elsmere Fire Company since 1999, and has already forged a successful career as a firefighter. People such as Pete are the future of our fire company. He has maturity, commitment, and integrity, and takes his job very seriously. On behalf of the members of the Elsmere FireCompany, it is with great honor that we nominate Peter Degnan as this year's firefighter of the year.

Firefighter of the Year 2005 - Chief William H. Webb, Jr.

Chief Kevin M. Shea Named 2004 Firefighter of the Year

In 1992 the Elsmere Fire Company A Inc proudly nominated Kevin Shea as our choice for Fireman of the Year at the annual American Legion awards ceremony. Kevin received this honor for the many tireless hours spent as an officer in both the civil office and fire line office. Kevin was also commended for his success with the Elsmere Drill Team, which came to be known as the Blues Brothers. He was our Captain of the Drill Team and our leader on the fireground. Kevin went on to earn the coveted Kenneth E. McNary Achievement Award in 1996.

To every member of the Elsmere Fire Company Kevin was a leader a mentor a teacher a brother and a friend. He was a friend to everyone. Kevin?s friendship was binding, his loyalty unwavering and his understanding unconditional. These qualities represent those of a true friend, brother firefighter and respected leader.

We honor Chief Kevin Michael Shea as our choice for Fireman of the Year. Kevin was a role model for all of us and a man who lived life to its fullest. Kevin never put himself first and always made sure that everyone else was taken care of. He was something to everyone particularly his brother firefighters. He took great pride in us and we are proud to have had the opportunity to share our lives with him. He was generous to all of us, as is his family. We would like to thank you Kathy and Kelly for sharing him with us.

Simon Van Ryn honored as 2003 Firefighter of the Year

At this years annual awards ceremony of Fireman of the Year presented by the American Legion Post, Simon Van Ryn was honored as Elsmere's nominee.

Simon began his service with the Delmar Fire Department where he served for 24 years. During this time he was elected to the office of Lt and Captain. He is currently in his 24th year at Elsmere. He was a Director of the Fire Co and a longstanding member of the Elsmere Wanderer's Drill Team competing in Central New York State and Long Island Firematic competion.

Simon was just added to the ranks of Life Membership of Elsmere. He was acknowledged as Past President of Albany County Fireman's Association. A member of Hudson Mohawk, Nighthawks, and Hudson Valley.

Simon born in South Holland, came to the United States in 1948. Simon and wife Trudy of 51 years have 5 children. Congratulations to Simon Van Ryn, Fireman of the Year!

Lt. Frank Wickham Honored for Work at Ground Zero - 2002 Firefighter of the Year

Having entered the department in April 1989, Frank is now in his 13th year of service. His history of dedicated service begain in the civil officer line as a property clerk in 1992. Following this he continued through the ranks being elected vice president in 1995 and 1996, until becoming President in 1998. In the year ahead Frank's firematic desire drew him towards the company fire line office, and as he completed his term as President, immediately ran for and was elected 4th Fire Lieutenant in December of 1999. Since then he has continued to advance in rank and currently holds the position of 2nd Lieutenant.

The performance of this candidate can certainly be characterized as above average when considering the most important factors such as training and response to alarms. Frank's occupation and background being employed in a fast paced private sector technical environment, has benefited our department in making advancements for our training programs and computerization in many areas. Following suit is a long list of outside training courses Lt. Wickham has taken, from numerous NYS OFPC training courses to a variety of seminars offered to the fire service each year.

Highlighted by this effort is the specilized training received as a member of the NYS Urban Search and Rescue team. This training as an active member of the technical team, has brought Frank to several disastrous events across the state including the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11.

The quality effort put forth as a volunteer in Elsmere, and the outreach of this trait helping the citizens throughout the state in their time of need, is what really characterizes a true volunteer, the volunteer firefighter.

Chief Ned Costigan  Honored as 2001 Firefighter of the Year

With the threat of approaching storms and further movement of the landslide, the Elsmere Fire Company along with Town, County, State, and City of Albany officials were called in, and a Command Center established.

Immediately, 30-year member and Chief of the Elsmere Fire Company, Ned Costigan began evaluating the life safety and rescue issues of the disaster area. Evacuations of the area and civilian accountability efforts were also put into action. Fire risk was evaluated because of the potential for natural gas and electrical emergencies. Special dispatch assignments were planned bringing in other town fire and EMS agencies, and several informational meetings were held. Chief Costigan also developed a mutual aid plan with the City of Albany Fire Department realizing the loss of water and access to the lower portion of the Elsmere Fire District was a possibility. On site staging and command areas were established. The New York State Urban Search and Rescue Team was put on notice in the event of a sudden collapse trapping civilians and firefighters. New York State Department of Transportation was contacted and the old bridge in Normansville was inspected and made accessible for emergency use.

With the coordination between agencies, and the hundreds of hours of planning for a worst case scenario, Chief Costigan made sure that the residents and businesses of the Elsmere Fire District never received anything less than 100 percent of dedicated protection from the Elsmere Fire Company.

It is because of this loyalty, dedication and attention to detail that the members of the Elsmere Fire Company ?A? Incorporated, nominate Chief Edward ?Ned? Costigan as Fireman of the Year.

Kenneth E. McNary Honored as 2000 Firefighter of the Year

The Elsmere Fire Department is very proud this year to present a monumental candidate for the 2000 American Legion Firefighter of the year award. Beginning his fire service career on January 30, 1930, he immediately directed his goals towards advancing in a leadership position. Three years after entering active membership he was elected as company property clerk. In 1934 he moved into the fire line office by being elected 3rd Lieutenant, and serving in that position for 2 years. From here the upward advancement continued serving in the position of 2nd Lieutenant in 1936, Captain from 1937 to 1941, and Chief of Department in 1942, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1950, and 1951. This 9-year period as Chief, was only interrupted by a term of active duty with the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946. From here the dedication to service continued with the election to Fire District Commissioner in 1953, 1958,1963, 1977, 1980, and 1985.

Achievements and honors acquired through the years include Life Membership granted in 1946, Albany County Volunteer Firemen's Association "Fireman of The Year" in 1980 and numerous fire department awards marking years of service. A career fire protection specialist with the Mobil Oil Corporation, our candidate provided us with the best in fire extinguisher training and the handling of flammable liquids, and shared this expertise as a County Fire Instructor from 1951 to 1957. This year we celebrate his 70 years of service. Not many have achieved this plateau of volunteer service to a community, and not many will ever match it. The personal contribution made to our department and the community is unmeasurable. A model stature that exemplifies the modern day term "Recruitment & Retention", the 2000 Firefighter of the Year our most senior member Kenneth E. McNary.

Congratulations on an honor well deserved!