It was a wonderful, very special day for the Vigilant Engine and Hook and Ladder Company on Sunday, June 6, as they celebrated their 100th anniversary with a grand parade. The Vigilants, along with fellow fire companies from all over the metropolitan area joined the grand celebrations, which included a carnival and a concert the prior evening.

A wonderful array of beautiful red, shining fire trucks lined the streets to march. The antique fire equipment was the biggest hit of all! And everyone proudly cheered the brave firefighters.

Following is an abridged version of a wonderful history of the Vigilants written by Vigilant ex-Chief Robert Lincoln, Jr. Mr. Lincoln co-chaired the 100th anniversary event with fellow ex-Chief Ed Canfield.

At the start of the 20th century, railroad tracks had crept eastward to what is now called Great Neck Plaza but was known then as Thomaston. On election day in November 1904, a group of the peninsula's citizens recognized the need for fire protection at the station. Discussions began inside a building on North Station Plaza which was owned by W. R. Grace, the steamship magnate responsible for developing much of Great Neck. This building would soon become the first firehouse of the Vigilant Fire Company.

About 12 men were granted a charter from the Town of North Hempstead for a fire company, formally incorporating on Nov. 21, 1904. In those days a fire bell sounded the alarm at the firehouse. Horses, used to pull the apparatus, were borrowed from Robertson's bakery, across from the railroad station. That bell still stands in front of the present firehouse on Cutter Mill Road. Today it is rung ceremoniously on Memorial Day and at other times in honor of deceased members.

Their first alarm sounded in 1905 when they were summoned to extinguish a hayloft fire on the property of Captain Frederick Russell, at the corner of what is now Middle Neck Road and Northern Boulevard. The men did such a good job on the blaze that Captain Russell presented them with an inscribed fire trumpet, which today is in one of the company's trophy cases and occasionally carried by the chief in parades.

Shortly after their organization, the Vigilants found a generous benefactor in William K. Vanderbilt, the Long Island millionaire who was in the habit of associating himself with the Great Neck fire companies. He helped fund both the Vigilants and the Alerts.

Vanderbilt took an interest in the new company and through his aid and guidance the Vigilants grew. He delighted in seeing the company in action and at one time he staged a fire drill at his Lake Success mansion.

But, in order to maintain their three pieces of equipment, a hook and ladder, a hose reel tender, and a pumper, the Vigilants were still forced to hustle for funds, organizing many fund-raising events, often with the help of Great Neck residents who were in show business. Show people also often served as firefighters.

The firehouse, a former barn sometimes used as a theater and sometimes as a church, frequently was used to present Edison motion pictures for public entertainment and to raise funds for the Vigilants. The firehouse was Great Neck's first movie theater.

In 1913 the financial worries of the Vigilants were alleviated somewhat by the passage of the Maloney Act, a bill which gave towns the authority to contract with departments for fire protection. An agreement between the Vigilants and the Alerts provided that the company who arrived first to the scene was the one which would be paid for the fire. By 1914 the Vigilants were sporting a check for $1,500 from the Town of North Hempstead. In the ensuing years, with the organization of the peninsula's incorporated villages, they received additional contracts.

The funding mechanism for most of the company's expenses remains the same today. The Vigilant Fire Company provides fire protection to all of Great Neck Estates and parts of Kensington, Thomaston, Great Neck Plaza and the unincorporated area north of the railroad tracks. Emergency medical services are provided to all of Great Neck which lies north of the LIRR.

The first foreman of the Vigilant Fire Company, William Mullon, lived in a house next to the firehouse where a hotel now stands. It was his job to sound the alarm when there was a fire. When telephone service became available either he or his wife would be at home at all times to answer the call. In later years a staff of full time dispatchers, known as engineers, were hired. The first step toward new technology occurred with the installation of an electrically powered siren. The 1920s saw the apparatus become completely motorized.

Despite the Great Depression of 1929, the Vigilants were able to grow during the 1930s, with the purchase of new equipment.

No fire department is complete without a Dalmatian for a mascot and at various times the Vigilants had three. The first one, Smokey, was around during the 1930s. In those days powerful springs triggered by a rope were used to open the apparatus door. Smokey learned to jump up, pull the rope and open the door whenever the siren blew. Another Smokey lived with the Vigilants circa 1950 and Woodstock was a Vigilant during the early 1980s.

World War II created a heavy burden throughout the nation, and the Vigilants had many members serving in the military. To adapt, there was no change of chiefs until after the war ended. As a result, Chief Frank Gilliar, Sr. served the longest term for a chief, 11 years. During those years, the first women in the Vigilants helped to staff the ambulance service.

After the war, it was again possible to buy motor vehicles of all types. World Wathe Vigilants first installed a radio base station at the firehouse and mobile radios on key apparatus.

Over the years, the Vigilants have rescued many people. Sadly, there have also been those who could not be saved or who have been seriously injured at fires; this serves as a reminder that despite all its glory, fire-fighting in Great Neck is very real and can be dangerous.

By the late 1950s the Vigilants had outgrown their original wood frame firehouse on North Station Plaza and a new firehouse was built on Cutter Mill Road in 1957.

The Vigilants continued as a progressive organization with the introduction of Plectron radios in the early 1960s. These devices sound the fire alarm in the members' homes or businesses. In 1967 the Vigilants were among the first on Long Island to put an elevated bucket into service. Many other trucks were purchased. The new trucks saw much action in the late 1960s and early 1970s during "the beauty parlor wars." Almost every beauty parlor in the Plaza area was burned out over a four-year period.

Technical advancements allowed radios to become smaller in the 1970s. Walkie-talkies became the standard means to communicate on the fire ground. Personal pagers were phased in to call members to alarms. Vigilants started training in 1975 and 1976 as emergency medical technicians. On Aug. 11, 1977, these new techniques saw their first success when a victim in full cardiac arrest was successfully revived at the scene of a wedding reception in Kings Point.

As more tall buildings were built, the Vigilants needed a second ladder truck and a rear mount 100 foot aerial ladder was purchased in 1976. In 1977 the first Jaws-of-Life arrived. The jaws, along with other hi-tech devices such as air bags and hydraulic rams, are used regularly.

In 1979 the Vigilant Fire Company celebrated its 75th anniversary. A block party was held on Cutter Mill Road and a parade was held. But the highlight of the celebration was a major fire in a row of stores on Bond Street which happened just after preparations for the festivities had been completed.

The 1980s saw the Vigilants continue to keep up with the community's needs. A heavy duty rescue truck which replaced the floodlight truck has seen repeated duty not only at fires, but also at many serious auto accidents.

On Sept. 10, 1981, the Vigilants responded to a building collapse at a local health club. Another rescue situation occurred almost halfway into that decade near the New York City border when the LIRR tracks washed out during a thunderstorm. A passing train filled with passengers became trapped in mid-air and was suspended only by the drooping rails. The Vigilants responded and successfully removed all the victims to safety.

A new mini-pumper, bought in 1985, gave firefighters rapid access to car fires. And the Fire Police Squad was formalized.

The EMS mission of the Vigilants continued to grow with an increasingly large number of calls and greater training demands placed on EMTs. A second ambulance came in 1983, and the Fire Medic Squad was formed in 1984.

To house the additional equipment a larger firehouse was needed and a new one opened in 1981.

The Vigilants represented Great Neck in 1990 when they responded with mutual aid to the Avianca air crash in Oyster Bay Cove.

In the early 1990s, the Vigilant Fire Company was approached by the Village of Kensington to dispatch their police department, a service which continues today. In 1996, dispatch of the Manhasset-Lakeville Fire Department was started.

Training has always been a priority for the Vigilants. Regular classes and exercises are held each month and the company attends classes at the Nassau County Fire Service Academy. Other classes are also held.

In 1996 a huge brush fire occurred in Suffolk County. Vigilant members with a pumper worked at this fire for 48 hours until it was brought under control.

Throughout the 1990s the number of EMS calls continued to skyrocket. In 1998 a third ambulance was added.

The new century sees the Vigilants continuing on the forefront with the latest in equipment and skills. Examples include computer-aided dispatch, thermal imaging cameras, and digital gas/atmospheric metering equipment to name a few.

The Vigilants' darkest day came on September 11, 2001, when terrorists flew two airliners into the World Trade Center. The Vigilants quickly responded to the request for help and units were assigned immediately. Tragedy hit home when Vigilant First Assistant Chief Jonathan Ielpi, who was a New York City firefighter, was missing and then his body was recovered from the rubble three months later.

The advent of terrorism within the nation's borders brought a whole new dimension to firefighting. In addition to standard fire-fighting and rescue skills, members must now be trained in response to incidents involving weapons of mass destruction and decontamination of large numbers of people.

As Emergency Medical Services continued to grow and place even more strain on Vigilant resources, a source for new members was found at the United States Merchant Marine Academy where students receive EMT training. Members of the student body now respond as part of the Vigilant cadre.

In addition to responding to fires, the Vigilants continue to encounter victims in need of rescue or extrication, including a dolphin which beached itself in Great Neck Estates in 2003. Serious automobile accidents remain the biggest use for the Hurst Tool (Jaws-of-Life).

The Vigilants continue to move forward as they pass the milestone of 100 years of service. The business of firefighting has changed many times over the years, but the mission of helping those in need remains the vital role of the Vigilant Fire Company. Today's members, more than 140 strong, are a true demographic mix of people who come from every ethnic group found in Great Neck. They stand ready to serve their community with the same determination and spirit held by those original charter members, who in 1904 saw the need to organize and incorporate the Vigilant Engine and Hook and Ladder Company, Inc. of Thomaston, New York.