Ok not a business in the general sense of the word, but who would want to live without them? Im…read moregoing to come right out and say I have family and friends in the department so my viewpoint might be a bit skewed. This department is made up of volunteers who go through some very rigorous training. Which means someone is leaving thier nice _______(family dinner,cozy bed, kids ball game- you get it) to save your _________(house, loved one, car or butt). This department also provides fire safety instruction and information to the residents of the district. With a fire prevention & safety officer that goes into the schools, local businesses, church and civic groups all year long giving classes. When he comes he gives away printed material and fire helmets, and brings equipment and most times a fire engine to explore. They also have a Fire Prevention Day (date changes but is usually around the National FPday in October) that invites the community to the main firehouse for an afternoon of fun and learning with fire truck rides (you know you want to) real firehose handling, information tables, hands on demonstrations (think fire extinguishers) and actual BURNING OF STUFF (cars & mock rooms). Last bit- if the shit hits the fan or some drunk rams a car or the smoke alarm started shrieking at 2am I am so very glad that Ken or Doug or his wife Rachel or Chris or John or Peter or George or Margaret or her husband Roy or Leslie or Richie or the whole bunch of others are ready and able to come running in when everyone else is running out.

A great department with dedicated individuals who VOLUNTEER to protect and serve the citizens of…read moreSyosset. They are well trained, well supplied and fast to act when danger arises. I sleep a lot better at night knowing that we have a fire department like this.

In Re: Hicksville Fire Department, it is very hard to put a star value on it as there are so many…read morefacets of them. Different locations, activities, volunteer services etc. For this event past Saturday, it looked to me to be pretty well run. So A 3 or 4 star applies. I had not heard or seen information about the activities done at the West John Location. I happed to go to the post office near by, along with meeting a neighbor. So we walked over half hour before 3PM when tit ended. Their trucks had good and important info on them. Their hand outs did also. ( see pix) Items like have escape routes, review/practice with family, if clothing' catches fire, stop drop and roll. All good points. As for the drama- they lite a wood box on fire up close/ do not cross this line- with fire department personnel in full garb and ready to use hoses to put it out. Everyone could see and feel the heat from the flames and then see and smell the smoke when they extinguished it. They did have some of the guys as crossing guards and that was helpful too. What I felt was missing? Nothing about pets. And maybe they had covered it as we were in on the - tail end of it. As many suburbanites have pets, also seeing the reaction of my own dog backing away from the fire area. I felt a demo and window pet stickers /save my dog- could have been a good added addition. ( something I noticed amiss even at memorial (- 911 ) services honoring All who serve and serve still today. This said as I mentioned it was a good event.

A few minutes ago I swear I thought one of my neighbor's house was seriously burning to the ground…read morebecause I heard what I thought was many fire trucks coming to the rescue! I ran outside to see it was one truck going in & out of the blocks throwing popcorn ball treats to everyone in the neighborhood!! Talk about a sense of pride in my community! Everyone was coming out of their houses to wave to & thank the fire department for their devoted & tireless efforts in keeping the residents of Hicksville safe! The truck was decorated with big candy canes & many volunteer fire fighters adorned the truck waving! They even had a fire fighter dress up as Santa Claus! I'm so humbled & impressed that I just witnessed this act of community, kindness, support, devotion & holiday spirit!! Yay Hicksville!!

Volunteer Firefighters…read more Unlike NYC, most of Long Island relies on a cadre of volunteer firemen to respond to emergencies and fires. After a head on collision 2 weeks back, the first person to jump into action was an off duty volunteer fireman from the East Norwich fire department. I managed to extricate myself from the wreck and after he dialed 911 we looked for the other driver- His fellow volunteers soon were on the scene with all sorts of equipment - maybe because I was in a daze but it seemed to me that those guys were there in seconds. My hat is off to that whole group of volunteers!

GREAT fire department!! Thanks for putting out the blaze on June 1, 2007 - Simply fabulous and…read moreprofessional.

And Thank you guys as well for putting out the blaze on June 1st!!…read moreFabulous job.

Always very responsive and several volunteers are now Asian to help better relative to the…read moreneighborhood.