Hoosick Grange News

It was fire prevention night at Hoosick Grange on June 13. Marion Hynick introduced Hoosick’s Fire Chief, William Rifenburgh. He told us he has been Chief for 14 years. He said their Department is 40 members strong. They cover one-third of the County. He said he works in Albany in Fire Prevention and Patrol. In case of a fire, there is usually someone there to be on call. He told us now most fires are in the summer, not in the winter. Their fire company gets calls for accidents, and they are usually close to home. Someone asked if farmers had to get permission to burn agricultural waste? He said they can burn but not between March and May. He told us we should have fire drills in our home. He told us kids are better at them than adults. He gave us check lists and pamphlets on fire prevention. Bill said farmers should keep grass and debris away from farm buildings in case of brush fires. He told us that during an electric storm we should unplug our TV. In case of storms everyone should listen to their radio or TV for news on what to do.
He said if you buy a generator, it should be installed by an electrician who knows what they are doing. He answered questions about fireman training. Basic interior fireman training is 87 hours, for a year. Exterior training is twenty-seven hours.
The Lecturer thanked Bill for a very informative program. After the program, Marion Brenenstuhl had some delicious refreshments.
The Grange had its meeting before the Lecturer’s program. The Master, David Cornell, presided over the meeting. The Lecturer announced the photo contest for 2013. The categories are America the beautiful, animals, grangers in action, family celebration and historic places or events. You can enter one photo in each category so let’s get taking pictures.
Our next meeting is on June 27, and the Lecturer is in charge of the program. The refreshment committee is – everyone brings cookies.