**AVAILABLE FOR PRESALE ONLY -- BOOKS WILL NOT SHIP UNTIL 2025**
City Historian Tony Opalka has captured a history important not only to Albany, but to the evolution of the professional firefighting service in cities across the country. Because modern technology, building codes, and fire suppression products have greatly reduced the number and size of fires we typically see today, it is easy to lose sight of the crucial role firefighting played in the development of cities. The Firehouses of Albany skillfully illustrates how the creation of professionally staffed and strategically placed firehouses not only saved lives, it allowed the City to grow its residential and commercial neighborhoods. I commend Tony for shining a spotlight on the rich and proud history of the Albany Fire Department. –Kathy Sheehan, Mayor of Albany
For nearly 400 years, firefighters in Albany, whether citizens along a bucket brigade, volunteers appointed in the 1760’s and beyond, or the professional Albany Fire Department established on June 1, 1867, there is a long and rich history of firefighting in the City of Albany. We are truly a proud Department that has always answered the call, no matter the risk. The members of the Albany Fire Department are proud to wear our uniform, proud to serve our city, and proud to be called Albany’s Bravest. This book captures our history and tells our story through our firehouses and the thousands of members who have served our city. This is our story: this is the Albany Fire Department. –Joseph Gregory, Chief, Albany Fire Department
In this original history of the diverse and distinctive firehouses of Albany, the author, Tony Opalka, our city historian, recognizes that much more than just telling the facts about the structures and neighborhoods they protected, the spirit of those who resided in these places needed to be acknowledged.
Contained within the heart of each firehouse were the unique memories of generations of firefighters who lived and served in these buildings.
In the myriad of public buildings, it would impossible to know of better examples that have housed public servants who have known such loyalty, camaraderie and unparalleled bravery to protect the lives and property of their fellow citizens. –John J. McEneny, Albany County Historian
Historian Tony Opalka has turned his considerable knowledge of Albany history and his skills as a researcher to often-overlooked architectural gems across the capital city. In “The Firehouses of Albany,” Opalka has given readers a gem of his own. It is comprehensive, authoritative, richly illustrated and filled with unexpected discoveries. –Paul Grondahl, author, journalist and the Opalka Endowed
Director of the NYS Writers Institute at the University at Albany
