West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department

The West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department has provided the areas of Howard Beach, Rockwood Park, Hamilton Beach, Jamaica Bay, Ramblersville, Spring Creek, and The Belt Parkway with emergency care since 1928.

Our response area consists of commercial shopping space along Cross Bay Blvd, two public schools, one catholic school, two catholic churches, one Lutheran church, one synagogue, one Judea center, the Belt Parkway from Pennsylvania Avenue, Brooklyn exit eastbound to approximately 150th Street in Queens in both directions, the Nassau Expressway from approximately 114th street eastbound to North Hangar Road in JFK airport and in the opposite direction westbound, the JFK AirTrain, the MTA “A” train, and JFK Airport for “the crash box” (crash box is called when an inbound plane is having inflight or landing issues).

Memberships We Offer

Services We Offer

We primarily operate as an Engine company, but it’s more of an enhanced engine as we do have the capabilities of acting as a truck company carrying portable ladders hooks hurst tools for MVA’s and so on

We have 3 classes of membership:

Class A – Fire Fighter, Carrier*, Dispatcher
Class F – Carrier*, dispatcher
Class G- Dispatcher

*Carrier would be a third person non-EMT but CPR & first aid certified

To receive NYS EMT training, the volunteer must be a minimum of a class F member.

Why Our Department

“We can provide you with the time, the training, the tools, the guidance, the support, and the environment you need to succeed in, but you have to bring the heart and dedication. We can not provide you with that.”

The department is 100% volunteer. Not one member is financially compensated in any way. Our members dedicate their time between their careers and families to come and provide these essential services to our community.

The men and women currently making up the department come from all over the city: Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhattan, and the Bronx. We are dispatched to about 300-350 medical calls annually and over 600 fire calls annually.