A memorial plaque and monument were unveiled in a ceremony Saturday in Piermont honoring a man who is believed to be the first Rockland volunteer firefighter to die in the line of duty. Thomas Pomplin was born in 1826 and was a member of the Empire Hose Company Number One in Piermont. It was discovered that he died fighting a fire at a Nyack factory in July 1854. Former Piermont Fire Chief Daniel Goswick Senior told those gathered for the memorial’s unveiling that Pomplin, a Black man, helped bring firefighting equipment with his colleagues from Piermont three miles away to Nyack, and assisted in the firefighting efforts…
Nyack NAACP president, Nicole Hines, said Saturday’s ceremony gave Pomplin the recognition he likely did not get in his own time…
Brandon McLauchlin is the pastor of the St. Charles AME Zion Church in Sparkill, and lamented that too often, the contributions of black Americans get pushed to the side, if they are given a spotlight at all …
The monument and memorial are located at Flywheel Park in Piermont. A resolution honoring the occasion was presented by Rockland State Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick and Assemblyman Mike Lawler.