New Engine Is Named for Chief Lyn Hutton, Former CGFD Chief & A Pioneer Among Women in New York State Fire Service
The Cherry Grove (NY) Fire Department held a dedication ceremony and wet-down celebration on Saturday September 25th 2021 at their headquarters for their new engine, 526-1, which was put into service earlier this year. 526-1 was dedicated in honor of Cherry Grove’s longtime Ex-Chief, and pioneer for women in the fire service, Lyn Hutton. Hutton was on hand to celebrate, as well as members of the community and firefighters from near and far!
Chief Hutton, a New York native, has been a Cherry Grove resident since 1972. She joined the Fire Department in 1976, one of only a handful of women in the fire service at that time. Quickly rising to Assistant Fire Chief, she became the Department’s first female Chief in 1980, a position she held until 1994. She is also believed to be the first female fire chief in New York State. She remained a Training Officer for the CGFD until her recent retirement. Hutton was among the early teaching staff at the annual training weekend for women firefighters conducted by the NYS Office of Fire Prevention and Control at the NYS Academy of Fire Science in Montour Falls, NY. She, and other women from Cherry Grove, were on the early Board of the Fire Service Women of New York State. Chief Hutton has been a trailblazer for women in the department. She was the first of three women Fire Chiefs in Cherry Grove history. Cherry Grove is unique within the United States Fire Service for having one of the highest percentages of active female firefighters (50%).
“As one of the first women leaders in the fire service in New York State, Lyn was a pioneer, a role model, and a mentor for many in the Cherry Grove Fire Department. She was Chief when I first joined the Board of Fire Commissioners and she understood the importance of the collaborative relationship that allowed us to build one of the best and most effective departments in the state despite our size and beach location. As Chief, Lyn was both tough and kind, devoted to training her firefighters, professional and demanding, and respected by the department and other departments on Fire Island. It is our honor and pleasure to name our new truck after her,” said Diane Romano, Chair, Cherry Grove Board of Fire Commissioners.
Cherry Grove FD partnered with Neville Apparatus of New Hyde Park to custom fabricate their new engine 526-1, a unique engine capable of traversing the unique infrastructure of the narrow boardwalks in Cherry Grove where there are no paved roads.
CGFD today also dedicated its new Duryea Substation, on land generously donated by longtime CGFD member Louis Keith Nelson, and funded, in part, in memory of Cherry Grove residents Jack Ebert and Jerry Girardi.
