In 1949, George Quartz, Montague McIntyre, and George Thompson met with Henry Melvin at the local Melvin Tractor & Equipment business on River Road.

These concerned citizens were troubled that a neighboring fire department had failed to respond to a recent house fire in the area. They formed a community committee to organize a volunteer fire department that would protect residents of the Belgium and Cold Springs areas of the town. The first meeting of the proposed fire district and volunteer fire department was held on August 12, 1949. The fire district was established on December 30, 1949.

On January 6, 1950, the first organizational meeting for the fire district was held. The assessed valuation of the district was $698,875.00 and the population was 800. The fledgling fire district began operations with a $700.00 Tax Anticipation Note from First Trust Bank. Taxes levied upon district residents the first year were $2,145.00.

The first fire alarm system was a button on the outside of the fire station.

Emergency phone calls came to the Quartz and McIntyre residences and then someone ran to the fire station and pushed the button to sound the siren, and waited to tell the first firefighter that responded the location of the call. It was a marked improvement when a button to activate the siren was installed at each residence.

In the early years, the fire station was a community gathering place. The Auxiliary was very active and held dinners to raise money for the fire department. There were also numerous public dances, Boy Scout Meetings, and served as a meeting place for many local organizations.

The first few years, the calls were all responses to fires. Among the first rescue calls was a call to the Moyer farm on River Road for an apparent heart attack on a barn roof. First aid was given quickly (a shot of whiskey – always carried in the glove compartment) and then they got him down and sent him to the hospital in a local hearse (which was standard practice at the time).

In 1940’s-1950’s the area was a rural farm community. In the 1960’s brought the arrival of General Electric to our area. As a result the Cold Springs community grew quickly. The New York Ordnance Works of the World War II era (“The Project”) still occupied a good portion of the district. In the early 1970’s, this property was sold and the New Community of Lysander was developed. That area later changed its name to Radisson .