Careers & Education

NY Fire Company Working to Memorialize Historic LODD

Nov. 9, 2021

The Piermont Fire Department has started a fundraising effort to memorialize forgotten fallen firefighter Thomas Pomplin, who died in 1854.

Source Firehouse.com News

An effort is underway to recognize firefighter Thomas Pomplin, a member of Empire Hose Company No. 1, as Rockland County's first LODD in 1854.

Piermont Fire Department members have started a GoFundMe page to recognize and establish a memorial for firefighter Thomas Pomplin as Rockland County's first line of duty death in 1854.

Research by Daniel Goswick, the former chief of the department, shows that firefighter Pomplin’s death was a result of the Storm's Cedar Tub and Pail Factory fire in July 1854. Pomplin, a member of the then-Empire Hose Company No. 1, reportedly passed away eight days later from the effects of overheating and exhaustion from fighting the blaze in Nyack.

Pomplin's death wasn't recognized at the time, and it's believed that his race may have been a contributing factor.

“Based on our research that we have compiled, I believe that Thomas Pomplin should be recognized as the first line of duty death in Rockland County, but because of his skin color back then, I am sure he was never recognized for his heroic acts,” Goswick told Mid Hudson News.

Fundraising efforts are underway to place a monument in Piermont’s Flywheel Park and place a headstone in Rockland Cemetery on the Pomplin family’s plot.