Rhinebeck board approves shift of protective fire coverage from Hillside to Rhinebeck Village amid community concern

The Town of Rhinebeck board voted on March 24 to amend the town’s fire-protection contract so the portion of the town’s protective district that had been covered by the Hillside Fire Department will be covered by the Rhinebeck Village Fire Department. The board introduced the amendment as Tab 17 on the meeting agenda and moved to adopt the change after an extended public discussion with Hillside volunteers and commissioners.

Town officials said the amendment responds to concerns about Hillside’s ability to cover the contracted area after a period of low membership and discussion within Hillside about dissolving the fire district. The amendment was presented on the floor as a contract change transferring coverage; the motion to adopt the amendment was made and later carried, with the chair stating the motion “passes” at the meeting’s close on the item.

The vote followed nearly two hours of public comment and statements from Hillside department representatives and local residents. John Hudock, who identified himself as president of the Hillside fire district board, told the board he had learned through the district secretary that Hillside might be dissolved and that Hillside hired an attorney to pursue options. Hudock said Hillside commissioners had offered to work with the town and with neighboring departments to ensure continuity of coverage while the district sorted out its membership and governance.

Mark Long, chief of the Hillside Fire Department, said the department had regained personnel since last year and described staffing gains: “We’re down to 10 with 2 interior. Now we’re up to 15 with 6 interior. … We now have 15 members, 6 firefighters that are interior, 2 younger that are going through firefighter 1 at the moment.” Long added the department had scheduled required equipment testing and expected additional members to complete training by midyear.

Hillside speakers and several longtime members, including former Chief Dennis McGuire and commissioner Brian Maguire, said the department has deep community roots and that residents worry the change will be the first step toward closing the Hillside firehouse. “When we started out, it was you were 16. … At 04:00 in the morning, 2 o’clock in the morning, and you’re leaving your house in the middle of a snowstorm to go and help your neighbors,” McGuire said, describing volunteer commitment and arguing the department remained able to respond.

Town board members said they had been monitoring staffing and response data since October and that initial signs suggested Hillside’s staffing was uncertain when the board negotiated or reviewed the contract. One town official noted that, when the contract was reviewed in October, concerns about membership influenced the town’s position. Several board members repeatedly encouraged Hillside to keep the town informed of training and staffing progress and offered to review the arrangement again at the end of the year.

Rhinebeck Village fire representatives, speaking during the discussion, described their department’s capacity: the Rhinebeck representative said the village department has “60 active members” and about 27 interior-qualified firefighters with 30–31 EMTs, and that the village frequently serves as a first-alarm mutual-aid partner for the area. Hillside and Rhinebeck representatives described mutual-aid responses and said neither department opposed mutual support.

The board noted the town’s legal authority over the contract and that a transfer of the protective district portion to Rhinebeck Village would not itself dissolve Hillside; Hillside officials emphasized they did not plan to close. The board chair asked Hillside leaders to continue reporting membership and training progress and said the board could revisit the contract if circumstances changed.

The transcript indicates the amendment motion was put on the floor, discussed at length, and ultimately adopted; the record shows the chair declared the motion passed. The meeting record does not include a roll-call vote with named votes for the amendment; the board indicated the motion passed at the close of the discussion.

The discussion illustrated tensions common to rural volunteer fire coverage: local volunteers and commissioners urged support to keep the local station open and operational, while elected officials weighed short-term coverage reliability and public-safety risk in choosing contracted partners. Town officials repeatedly urged improved, direct communication between Hillside leadership and town officials; Hillside speakers said much of their correspondence had been with the department secretary, Colette DeWitt, and asked for clearer lines of communication going forward.

The board also encouraged Hillside to continue recruiting interior-qualified firefighters and to report back later in the year on progress. Town officials and Hillside leaders agreed that mutual aid and cooperative training would continue.

The board’s amendment to the fire-protection contract is recorded on the meeting agenda as Tab 17 (resolution 2025-117 amending the fire district contract). The transcript does not record a detailed roll-call tally for the vote; the chair stated the motion “passes.”