Shaker Road-Loudonville Fire Department

The Shaker Road-Loudonville Fire Department is a fire protection district in the town of Colonie, New York.

Background

The Shaker Road Fire Department was formally organized in 1932 when thirty members met and elected James J. Naughter President and Arthur G. Emerick Chief. The original station was located at 526 Albany Shaker Road at the site of an old Sunday School House. The original pumper was a 1918 White obtained from the Albany Fire Department. A newer station was constructed up the road in 1949 and remained the main station until 1989 when the current station was constructed. The second station, built in 1972 to meet the needs of the growing district is located on Old Niskayuna Road.

The department was renamed in the 1957 to be the Shaker Road-Loudonville Fire Department, or SRLFD.

Organization

SRLFD current has over 50+ volunteer members, three full-time paid firefighters and two part-time firefighters. There are no formal apparatus assignments. When responding to calls, members get on the next piece of apparatus to leave the station.

The department has the following firematic officers:

  • Chief (Car 51)
  • Deputy Chief (Car 52)
  • Assistant Chief (Car 53)
  • Two Captains, one for each station
  • Four Lieutenants, one at each station for the engines, one for the ladder truck, and one for the rescue company

The Chief appoints the following positions:

  • Incident Safety Officer
  • Health and Safety Officer
  • EMS Coordinator

Apparatus

SRLFD currently has 6 fire suppression vehicles and a few auxiliary vehicles.

Station One Apparatus

  • Engine 446 (2001 Pierce Enforcer - 1500gpm/750gwt/30gft class "A" foam/30 gft class "B" Foam)
  • Engine 447 (1986 Ford/Saulsbury F350 - 650gpm/200gwt)
  • Truck 9 (2007 KME Predator - 1500/300 - 102' AerialCat)
  • Safety 9 (2006 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor)
  • M-480 (2004 Ford Expedition)
  • M-481 (2006 Ford F350)

Station Two Apparatus

  • Engine 448 (1998 Pierce Saber 1500/750gwt/30 gal. class A Foam/30 gal. Class B foam)
  • Engine 449 (1996 Pierce Saber - 1250gpm/750gwt/50gft)
  • Rescue 9 (1993 Spartan/Saulsbury)
  • M-475 (Ford V10 Bus)

Chiefs' Vehicles (In 2009, the Chiefs' cars will be replaced with Chevrolet Tahoes)

  • Car 51 (2009 Chevy Tahoe)
  • Car 52 (2009 Chevy Tahoe)
  • Car 53 (2006 Ford Expedition)

District

SRLFD's district covers from the Albany, New York city limits at the southern district border to the north, covering much of Albany International Airport. It goes east to west from Menands, New York to the borders of the Fuller Road Fire Protection District and the West Albany Fire District. Locations that are inside SRLFD's district are Loudonville, Newtonville, and Latham.

Notable places in SRLFD's district:

  • Siena College
  • Albany International Airport
  • Town of Colonie Public Safety Building
  • Town of Colonie Town Hall
  • NYS Division of Military and Naval Affairs
  • New York State Police Troop G Headquarters
  • Pruyn House
  • The Crossings of Colonie
  • A small stretch of I-87
  • The Ann Lee Nursing Home(No longer in use)
  • The Albany Times Union

SRLFD's district has AbOUT 10,000 permanent residents. The value of property that SRLFD covers is in excess of $9,000,000,000.

Calls

In 2008, SRLFD had 876 calls. 53 calls involved fire. There were also 10 extrications. During the December 2008 Northeast ice storm, SRLFD ran 135 calls from 12/12 until 12/15. However, because of the high level of activity during the ice storm, certain things, such as removal of downed trees in the roadways, are not included in that amount. The true call amount for the ice storm is much higher.

In 2007, SRLFD had 816 calls. Of these calls, 61 involved fire, 4 were extrications, 13 were gas leaks, and 19 were standbys at Albany International Airport.

In 2006, SRLFD has 742 calls. Of that, 66 incidents involved fire, 4 extrications, 23 gas leaks, and 23 were standbys at Albany International Airport.

How Alarms Are Received and Dispatched

There are many ways that alarms are received: walk-in requests for help, phone calls to the stations, or through the Colonie Dispatch Center.

Upon receiving a request for help, Colonie Dispatch tones out SRLFD and any other departments on the alarm box.

In the modern day, the bulky pagers that used to be carried to alert firefighters of a call are being supplemented by text messages sent to members' cell phones. This is a sample of what these text messages look like:

FIRE ALARM

E446,E447,E448,E449,RS9,TK9

123 TEST RD

MR & MRS JOHN Q PUBLIC

Map Shaker 08:15:00

EMS

Until recently, SRLFD was only activated for Echo response calls. Echo response calls are cardiac and respiratory arrests. SRLFD is activated for all Delta Response car accidents. Additionally, the department will respond to EMS calls if in the area of the call or Colonie EMS is currently unavailable. However, SRLFD rarely is activated for an EMS call.

Specialties

SRLFD was once part of the Colonie Rope Rescue Team. However, Colonie EMS has overtaken those duties.

Currently, the department's runs a Firefighter Assist and Search Team to structure fires.

SRLFD also has duty crews on most nights from 6pm to 6 am. A typical duty crew consists of anywhere from four to twelve firefighters, capable of staffing at least one piece of apparatus. During this time, the duty crew will respond to any calls SRLFD receives. However, if they are not responding to an emergency, the crew usually engages in some form of training or work detail. There are also bunks in both stations for the crews to sleep in.