Windham Receives New Tanker

Windham Hose Company No. 1 took delivery of a new tanker, this week, continuing their 115 years of volunteer service to the community. On hand for the fleet addition were (left to right) fire chief Jordan Braren, president and 54-year member Michael Scarey, vice-president Mickey Begley, 51-year member William Scarey, 58-year member Greg Thorp, honorary lifetime member Ray Tompkins, 53-year member Garry Tompkins and second assistant chief Ryan Dempsey.

Paying tribute to “Departed Member” Alan Holcomb are (left to right) Hose No. 1 fire chief Jordan Braren, company president Michael Scarey, Greene County Sheriff’s Office deputy Amy Weiland and Windham police officer Steve Bence. Holcomb, a 55-year member and former assistant chief, passed in April. The memorial was created in honor of Shayne Scarey who tragically passed at 19 years old, the son of life member H.B. Scarey and the volunteer unit’s first junior fireman. The company also lost Kenneth Smith in September, 2025.

Making it official, Windham Hose Company No. 1 fire chief Jordan Braren (foreground) signs the paperwork for the new TA26.4 tanker, purchased for $504,000 from Bulldog Fire Apparatus, based in Albany, and delivered on May 12 by Bulldog owner Marc Mazza.

The volunteer firefighting unit respectfully remembers James Scarey, a longtime member of Hose Company No. 1 with four sons similarly committed to the department. The elder Scarey was also the founder of and first police chief for the WIndham police department.

By Michael Ryan

WINDHAM - “It’s a beautiful truck,” said Windham Hose Company No. 1 president Michael Scarey, helping take delivery of a new TA26.4 tanker, earlier this week

Beauty was not merely in the eye of the beholder, adding the 3,000 gallon tanker to the volunteer firefighting unit that has been committed to community service for 115 years.

The red Western Star rig is equipped with a portable foldout pool, letting firefighters empty the tanker onsite and swiftly embark on a refill run.

There are also highly functional and efficient dischargers, giving volunteers the capacity to simultaneously hook up multiple hoses, as well as a deluge gun, a high-capacity, controllable and aimable water jet system. 

The new tanker was purchased for $504,000 from Bulldog Fire Apparatus, based in Albany, replacing a 1998 model that will be put out to bid.

Windham Hose Company No. 1, on top of bolstering its response abilities, held its election of officers, returning Jordan Braren as fire chief (12-year member). He is the grandson of Greg Thorp, a 58-year member.

Guillaume DuFresnoy is first assistant chief (10-year member) and Ryan Dempsey is second assistant chief (12-year member).

Michael Scarey is again the fire company president (his fourth time in the role, 54-year member) with Mickey Begley serving as vice-president (6-year member). Eric Goettsche is the treasurer (33-year member).

Not present for the arrival of the new firetruck was James Scarey III, a 59-year member, one of four Scarey brothers affiliated with the unit.

The quartet of brothers are joined in memory by their late father James Scarey II, a loyal firefighter and founder of the town police department.

Windham Hose Company No. 1 was formed in 1911, having the dubious distinction of being denied its 100th anniversary celebration.

The company had planned the gala for August, 2011, but was forced to reschedule in the wake of historic flooding from Hurricane Irene. 

They have come full circle and are stronger than ever, answering 183 calls last year, after being summoned 221 times in 2024. They have left the station in the line of duty on 67 occasions as of May 12, this year.

They performed a Mother’s Day rescue in a mountainous section of East Windham, attending to an 11-year-old boy who became unable to keep walking, carrying him a half-mile to safety.

Windham Hose Company No. 1 recently received a $30,000 donation from the Windham Mountain Club and the Windham Foundation.

The dollars, distributed over a three-year period, $10,000 per year, will be invested in equipment upgrades, according to Chief Braren.