The Exempt Fireman’s Association in the City of Poughkeepsie has a plan for the old O.H. Booth Hose Company building on Main Street. Now, they need city officials to get on board.
The association hopes to turn the now-empty structure into a firefighting museum and fire safety education center, but it needs to overcome a few hurdles first, not the least of which is securing ownership of the building. Built in 1907, the three-story firehouse served as the fire company’s home until last year, when the unit moved to the new Public Safety Facility, just up the street. The Exempts, led by Board of Directors Chair Chris Petsas, want to secure the building, make needed renovations and preserve its fire heritage for future generations.
As with most issues, though, this one is more complicated than it looks. First off, the Fire Department has not yet totally vacated the building, and the association has yet to complete a walkthrough to determine structural viability and the amount of work needed to restore it. In addition to questions about how bad the building is, some members of the City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department believe the organization’s fire prevention education efforts are already adequate, although Petsas insists that more is needed. Lastly, the Exempts must grapple with the city’s desire to undoubtedly add buildings to the local tax rolls, rather than continue to have the Booth Hose Company building remain off.
But after a little bit of consideration, it’s easy to see the benefits that the association’s plan could have for the city. As Petsas rightly points out, fire safety is a serious issue for Poughkeepsie, and has been since the city’s inception. The Fire Department responded to 4,020 emergency calls last year, including 45 structure fires. And there’s no such thing as overkill on fire prevention education – the more knowledge about preventing fires that children and adults are exposed to, the less the chance of a potentially deadly fire. Accidents do happen, but further education, whether under the purview of the City Fire Department or the Exempt Fireman’s Association, can help prevent some of the most serious catastrophes.
And the heritage of the Booth building – it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places – presents a potential stumbling block for any commercial interest in the property. State approval would be required before work could begin on the rundown building, meaning that it would be years before it could generate any tax revenue for the city anyway. And given the fact that the building’s namesake, firefighter O.H. Booth, founded the Exempt Fireman’s Association in 1886, the chance to combine history and education for future generations is not one to be passed up. The city should support the Exempts’ proposal and work with them to restore the Booth building, a Poughkeepsie landmark, and make it a viable part of the city’s continued revival.