Speigletown District Volunteer Fire Company

Controlled burn or a non-emergency? Call county dispatch at 518-270-5252.

Our mission

The mission of the Speigletown District Volunteer Fire Company is to protect life and property from fire and other emergencies through incident response, public education, and thorough training of Fire & EMS personnel. It's the District's endeavor to deliver the highest level of care, including Basic Life Support First Response EMS, to our residents at the lowest cost, with the most modern and advanced firefighting and EMS equipment provided to Speigletown Fire District personnel, while holding the highest regard for the personal safety of the public and district personnel. As a customer-driven organization, it is our mission and number one priority to deliver the best possible service to our customers.

District budget

The fire district is a public taxing district. Its 2026 adopted budget totals $671,477:

• General support (operating) $355,682
• Debt service (principal & interest) $80,453
• Reserves & interfund transfers $235,342

See the full line-item budget →

47% fire · 53% EMS — a 27.7% over 2022 rise in call volume. A 2023 FEMA Assistance to Firefighters Grant funded new EMS equipment, including an automatic CPR unit and a monitor/defibrillator. That work hasn't gone unnoticed: the company was recently honored with a county commendation.

Other traditions through the year:

• Easter Bunny Parade (spring)
• Firehouse Chili Cookoff at Browns Brewing (spring)
• Chicken BBQ (May)
• Calendar Drive (September)
• Annual Golf Tournament at Frear Park (October)

Dates for these land on the community calendar, and this year's Chicken BBQ (October 24) has its own story.

Founded in the summer of 1944, when neighbors met at the schoolhouse to organize fire protection for the hamlet. More than eighty years later, it’s still a volunteer company.

1. 1944 Neighbors recognize the area’s need for fire protection, meet at the schoolhouse, and elect the first officers — with Harrold Murphy as the first chief.
2. 1945 Members raise $1,700 through dances. In March, with no equipment yet, they respond to a barn fire that spread to a house — saving furniture and belongings. In August they buy their first pumper for $5,700.
3. 1946 The pumper is delivered and membership grows to 111. Construction begins in September on a lot at Milk’s Pond; until the station is ready, the pumper is kept in Irv Gordon’s barn.
4. 1947 The firehouse opens on February 14 at the same site as today’s much-expanded station. That October, the company acquires its first tanker.
5. 1954 By the company’s 10th anniversary, membership reaches 150.
6. 1962 Membership peaks at 300.
7. 1994 At the 50th anniversary, the company has 30 active members with trained EMTs and modern equipment.
8. 2026 Chief Larry Funk steps down after five years — his grant-writing saved district taxpayers several million dollars — and Dean Rysedorph becomes chief.
9. Today About 35 members answer fire and basic-life-support calls with an engine ladder truck, pumper, tanker, brush truck, and tactical unit trailer.

Condensed from the company’s own history page.

Speigletown is served by a Fire District — a public body with elected commissioners that funds and oversees fire protection — and the volunteer Fire Company that answers the calls. Leadership splits into three groups, and the split is deliberate: it separates legal governance and budgeting, emergency operations, and the company's internal business.

Why it matters to you: fire districts are their own little governments. In New York, district commissioner elections are held each December (typically the second Tuesday, at the firehouse) and the budget gets a public hearing each October — separate from general elections, and easy to miss. Nearly all district revenue is property tax. More in the NYS Comptroller's guide, Fire Protection in New York State — and in the district's budget, here.

When they meet, at the firehouse: the Board of Fire Commissioners the third Monday of each month at 6:00 PM (district meetings are public); the fire company the second Monday at 7:00 PM; and drills every Thursday at 7:00 PM — all on the community calendar.

The current slate, as confirmed by the department: