The Hudson Fire Department marked 225 years of volunteer service to the community, April 17. At a ceremony held at City Hall, Mayor Rick Rector declared a day of recognition and celebration of the department’s grand tradition. Rector expressed the city's "acknowledgment and appreciation for the selfless service to the community rendered by our firefighters today and by all the generations of firefighters that came before them." Hudson Fire Commissioner Timothy Hutchings and Fire Chief Anthony Demarco, accepted the proclamation on behalf of the volunteers. The city's first volunteer fire company was established on April 17, 1794. Hudson's J. W. Edmonds Hose Company, No. 1 and H. W. Rogers Hose Company, No. 2 are the two oldest active volunteer fire companies in New York.