December 4, 1920
Rush Fire Department founded
The department is organized by Town of Rush residents. First apparatus: a Model T Ford chemical fire truck. First station: a rented barn at $60 a year. The foundation of everything that follows.
Since 1920
OurHistoryA Century of Service
Founded December 4, 1920 by neighbors who decided Rush needed fire protection. No grant, no county mandate — just people who showed up. Over a hundred years later, that hasn't changed.
The beginning
A barn, a Model T,
and sixty dollars
On December 4, 1920, the Rush Fire Department was organized. The founders had no roadmap, no grant money, no fire training facilities — just a clear problem and the resolve to solve it. Their first apparatus was a Model T Ford chemical fire truck. Their first firehouse was a barn, rented for $60 a year.
Six years later, in 1926, the Town of Rush formalized its support with a $250 contribution toward department operations — a modest acknowledgment that what these volunteers were doing mattered to everyone in town. In July 1930, the department incorporated and upgraded to a Model A Ford fire truck.
By 1936, the firehouse had moved out of the barn and into a new town hall — built for $10,000, a proper home for a department that was becoming an institution. The community was investing in what its volunteers had built.
By the numbers
- Founded
- Dec 4, 1920
- First apparatus
- Model T Ford chemical fire truck
- First station
- A barn — $60/year
- Stations today
- 2
- Calls per year
- 500+
Department milestones
A century
on the line
1926
Town of Rush commits $250
The Town of Rush contributes $250 toward department operations — an early formal recognition that the volunteer department was providing an essential public service.
July 1930
Incorporated — Model A Ford acquired
The department formally incorporates and takes delivery of a Model A Ford fire truck, upgrading its apparatus to meet the demands of a growing community.
1936
A real firehouse — the new town hall
The firehouse moves into Rush’s new town hall, built for $10,000. The barn is gone — the department now has a permanent, purpose-built home in the center of town.
1939
First ambulance south of the city
Rush starts the first ambulance service south of the city in Monroe County. Nineteen years into its existence, the department is already setting a standard for what a small volunteer organization can accomplish. It’s a distinction we’ve never given up.
1957
First heavy rescue in Monroe County
Rush puts in service the first heavy rescue unit in Monroe County — expanding its capabilities beyond suppression to technical rescue, vehicle extrication, and specialized operations. Another first for a department defined by them.
1980
NYS-certified — first in Monroe County
The Rush FD ambulance becomes the first fire-department-operated ambulance in Monroe County to earn New York State certification. The department’s EMS program isn’t just historic — it’s held to the highest standard.
1998
$400,000 station addition
The Rush Fire District funds a major $400,000 addition to Station 1 at 1971 Rush Mendon Rd, expanding the facility to accommodate the department’s growing fleet and membership — a lasting investment in the infrastructure of public safety.
2026 — Today
Two stations. 8 apparatus. Still all-volunteer.
The department now operates from two stations — Station 1 at 1971 Rush Mendon Rd and Station 2 at 2 Rush West Rush Rd. Eight pieces of apparatus cover fire, rescue, EMS, water rescue, and off-road response. Ambulance 589 still rolls with volunteer EMTs aboard. Rush is one of the very few volunteer departments in Monroe County still running its own ambulance. The people answering the call are still neighbors.
STATION 1 STATION 2 AMBULANCE 589 PUMPERS 582 / 583 / 584 RESCUE 588
EMS since 1939
The ambulance
that never left
When Rush started its ambulance service in 1939 — first south of the city in Monroe County — there was no playbook for what a volunteer fire department ambulance looked like. By 1980, theirs was the first fire-department-run ambulance in Monroe County certified by New York State. Decades later, while most departments in the county handed EMS off to outside agencies, Rush kept rolling its own. Ambulance 589 is still staffed by volunteer EMTs from this department. Rush is one of the very few volunteer departments in Monroe County still doing it this way. We intend to keep it that way.
The story isn't over
Write the
next chapter
Every person in this department's history walked in the door as a civilian. None of them had fire training. None of them had experience running an ambulance. They had willingness — and we had the rest. That offer still stands.