Name: Monsey Firehouse
Uploaded: 2026-07-30
Duration: 1 min 34 s
Channel: Thank You Hashem / Media

Episode 6: Monsey Fire Department Rockland County: See The Good Campaign When people think about Monsey, they think about yeshivos, shuls, and kosher food. But there's another incredible part of this community that deserves to be celebrated. For more than 200 years, the Monsey Fire Department has been protecting its neighbors. Today, it's staffed by volunteers from across the Jewish community, including Israeli, Modern Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform members, all working together with one shared mission: serving others. On any given day, these volunteers leave work, family, and even Shabbos meals to respond when their community needs them. Behind them are fire engines costing over $1 million and ladder trucks approaching $2 million, all operated by people who simply want to give back. As the Jewish community in Rockland County has grown, so has its commitment to serving the broader community. The message is simple: open your doors, build relationships, and let people see who you are through your actions. This department responds to nearly 1,500 calls every year, entirely through volunteers. This is Episode 9 of the Rockland County: See The Good Campaign, highlighting the people and organizations that make this community so special.

Categories:Community & Public Service

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When you think of a traditional firehouse, you probably picture mustaches, Dalmatians, and classic Irish or Italian-American firefighters. But this historic station in Monsey, New York, is actually run by Jews. Let's learn about it. >> What types of Jews do you see volunteering here at the fire department? >> Every part of Monsey volunteers here. We have Israeli people here. We have modern Orthodox. We have Hasidic. We have conservative. We have reform. Every type of Yid volunteers at the Monsey Fire Department. If you come here on a Shabbos afternoon, you'll see people running in in their bekeshes, people in their suits, and some people in their white Shabbos polo shirts. These are two of our front-line fire trucks here. >> How much is a fire truck? >> I'd bet a million dollars for a million bucks for an engine. Ladder trucks go for closer to two million. >> I don't know if you can look closely, but they have their fleet of cars here. If you look closely, you can see b'siyata d'Shmaya. Talk about Jewish, you know, integration into the fire department. Okay, so this is the fire department's what, over 200 years old at this point? >> there are actually Jews here [music] even in the 1700s during the Revolutionary War. You just see the arc of Jewish expansion in the Rockland area uh to the point now where we have a fully staffed fire department [music] with the Jewish community, which is pretty incredible. What advice would you give to other communities that are growing in Jewish population and are developing relationships with the local civic agencies? >> My advice would be to listen >> [music] >> and to open your doors. Letting the community in and and see what we do and see what we're all about, especially once they see [music] that we do all this as volunteers running 1,500 fire calls a year. Uh I think it really opens their eyes and helps form [music] that relationship. >> Amazing. >> You see the after snow rolling in the base medrish, not only in the restaurants, but here in the fire department as well.

Monsey Firehouse

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