N. Y. Chiefs Celebrate 75th Year
photos by Herbert J. Thomas
In a far cry from the days when a handful of charter members passed the hat to get a contribution to continue the association, the New York State Association of Fire Chiefs was hard put to find room for 8203 persons (a record) who attended its 75th annual conference at the Concord Hotel (and five others nearby) in Lake Kiamesha, N.Y., on June 17-20. In addition, two armorysized tennis courts were required to hold the variety of apparatus and equipment that the exhibitors displayed.
The New York State Association of Fire Chiefs had its beginning early in 1904 when a group of chiefs met to discuss their mutual fire service problems. The result was an association of fire chiefs which held its first conference with 61 charter members in Syracuse, where they settled on the present name. The first president was John Quigley and the first secretary was Henry R. Yates, who served for 18 years. This was the record until Ward A. Bohner arrived on the scene as secretary in 1953 and who has continued up until the present, now carrying the title of general manager.
Strangely enough, the next recorded annual meet ing was held in 1919, when the association had a membership of 115. In the intervening years the association was variously associated with the Conference of Mayors and other groups and the Municipal Training Institute of New York State. By 1953, membership had increased to 1176. In 1954, the association celebrated its 50th year in New York City. But the association continued to grow. Cities could not handle the conferences properly and in 1966, they were moved to the Concord where they have been held ever since.
As late as 1953, convention attendance generally ran to about 300 persons. But under the leadership of General Manager Ward A. Bohner, attendance steadily increased, reaching its peak with this year’s astounding record. Under Bohner not only conference attendance has increased, but the membership has expanded to over 6000. Bohner also takes great pride in the financial condition of his association. The year before he took over as secretary-treasurer (1952), receipts ran to about $15,000. In 1978, they were well over a quarter of a million dollars.
Bohner modestly says, “This growth has been due in a large part to the dedication of the membership under the guidance of many fine officers.”
But the members attribute a large part of the phenomenal growth of the last 26 years to their outstanding general manager.
The conference program was excellent, as usual, with 15 speakers representing the cream of the fire service, some of whom had traveled from as far away as Texas and California. Administrator Gordon Vickery of the United States Fire Administration discussed his plans for the National Fire Academy and pointed out that the volunteer fire service will receive much more attention in the future than it has received in the past. In his remarks, which were well received by the assembled volunteers, he spoke of a national conference (since held in Colorado) that was to be directed strictly to the needs of the volunteer, to which representatives of the volunteers from each state had been invited. Other speakers included Fire Commissioner George H. Paul, Boston, who spoke on the “Mandatory Use of Breathing Apparatus” in his department, and Chief James H. Shern, Pasadena, Calif., president of the International Association of Fire Chiefs, who discussed the national fire service.
Newly elected officers installed for the coming year were Charles F. Houper, Corning, president; Dominick N. Froio, Mattydale, first vice president; and Raymond J. White, Scarsdale, second vice president.
