Twelve men met in 1909 at the Shon Grocery Store, at the corner of Colonial Road and Brooklyn Avenue (now Woodfield Road), to organize the Lakeview Hook and Ladder Company. Funds were raised through card parties, dances and picnics to purchase a horse-drawn fire wagon, or pumper, with ladders.
The Lakeview Fire Department has remained a staple in the community ever since. It celebrated its 110th anniversary last Saturday by hosting the annual 4th Battalion Fire Department Parade, featuring fire departments of the 4th Battalion district — East Rockaway, Lakeview, Lynbrook, Malverne and Rockville Centre — and others from around the state.
Lakeview native Fred Senti Jr., president of the New York Association of Fire Districts, reflected on the growth of the department.
“I’ve seen the changes in the building,” Senti, 65, recalled, “and how the manpower grew over the years.”