"A Brief History of Amity Fire Company"

The Amity Fire Company was first organized on June 7, 1961. The first officers were President- Robert Mercer; Vice President- Fred Braunsberg; Secretary- Gene Bower; Treasurer- Harold Boyer; and Fire Chief- John Prinzinger. The original fire house was located at the corner of Weavertown Road and Old Airport Road, the building is still standing but used as storage by Merritt's Antiques. The first meetings were held in Boyer's Hall behind the store in Amityville. The first piece of equipment was a 1948 Buffalo with a 400 gallon booster tank. This truck was housed in the newly-remolded building at the rear of the Amity House on March 13, 1963.

On August 22, 1962 a 1952 Mack tanker was purchased and put in service on April 23, 1963.

Our first fire was a grass fire on the Flippins property off of Weavertown Road on May 26, 1963 which 24 men responded to. Our first social event was a B-B shoot held on November 15, 1964 inside the firehouse. On February 18, 1965 a base station and two two-way radios were installed to dispatch our trucks. The call sign was KFF-225.

On May 3, 1965 a 1949 Dodge emergency-rescue truck was purchased and put into service on April 30, 1966.

On October 17, 1966 a Willy's Jeep was purchased for fire fighting brush and woods fires.

On July 31, 1967 five and a half acres of land was purchased for building a new fire station.

On April 23, 1968 a 1960 Dodge powerwagon was purchased and placed in service.

On June 1, 1972 a 1965 International tanker with 2000 gallons of water was placed in service. Plans for a new fire station were drawn up on August 1, 1968 and ground breaking ceremonies were held on August 23, 1970.

On July 23, 1970 final settlement papers affixing the loan of the new Amity Fire Company were made and signed by Robert Mercer, Herbert Gowans, Earl Groff, Michael Ferreri, Ray Lauer, Gene Bower, Edwin Schearer, Henry Rhoads, Robert Endy, Harry Reigel, Gerald Weil, and George D. Shirey. The new construction began on September 22, 1970.

On May 28, 1971, we moved into our new station at 47 Pine Forge Rd. Our first mascot arrived in June of 1972 and he immediately assumed the name of "Ashes" he found his way into all of our hearts and is now represented on all of our apparatus. He was, of course, a dalmation. Our first new piece of apparatus was purchased in 1974. This Ford/Bean 750 gpm high-pressure pumper was a demo and changed the color scheme of the company to yellow. This truck was nicknamed the "yellowbird".

In 1979 the fire company received the "Jaws of Life" from the Lions club and an "O" cutter the following year.

In 1980 the fire company placed in service a 1980 Ford Ranger body rescue truck to carry all the rescue tools. Also the 1965 International tanker was repainted to match. In 1984, the Buffalo was sold to make way for a 1987 Pierce Lance with a 1750gpm pump, which was the first in the county at that time. This truck would be a workhorse for year's to come.

In 1993 the need to replace the Ford/Bean pumper and the brush truck became evident, so the company looked to 4-Guys and purchased a 1993 International 4800 4x4 750gpm rear mount pumper which was also the first in the county. The following year the 1965 International tanker was up for replacement and once again the company looked to 4-Guys and purchased a demo 1994 International 4900 stainless elliptical 1800 gallon tanker.

In 1997 the company saw the need to replace the heavily abused 1980 Ford rescue and did so with a 1997 International Central States rescue truck.

In 2004, a 2005 Ford explorer was purchased for the chief to use for fire company business and to respond to calls as a command vehicle. In late 2004, the company also decided the 1993 International rear mount no longer meets the company's needs and replaced it with a 2005 Pierce Dash CAFS pumper with some assistance from a FEMA grant.

In 2006 the fire company again used a grant to obtain a 2007 Ford F-350 4x4 4-door diesel pickup for training, low priority calls, medical calls and company errands. In 2012 the fire company again aquired a new utility. A 2012 GMC Sierra was bought to replace the F-350. The F-350 was now the "new" traffic. 

In 2015 a commmittee was formed to investigate replacing our 2002 Rescue truck. Rescue 49 lived its previous life as Engine 621 in Myrtle Beach. Rescue 49 was replaced with a brand new 2016 Pierce Arrow XT. 

From 2018 to 2021 the company bought two more utility truck. In 2018 a Chevy Silverado to replace the 2005 Ford explorer. And in 2021 Traffic 49 was replaced with a new 2021 Chevy Silverado 2500. 

Through the years there have been many changes in the Amity Fire Company, but one thing has remained the same, a dedication to provide the community with best service possible! Our members are highly trained and are ready to provide quality service 24hrs a day 7 days a week 365 days a year!