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Fire Island Pines Fire Department (est. 1959)
Fire is one of the greatest risks facing Fire Island Pines. With its remote location, closely spaced wooden homes and boardwalks, and dense stands of bamboo and other flammable vegetation, once ignited, a fire can spread with alarming speed. Since 1959, the volunteers of the Fire Island Pines Fire Department have stood as the community’s first and most critical line of defense.
They respond at the worst moments, often under dangerous and unpredictable conditions, performing work for which they are not paid but for which they carry immense responsibility. Operating within a system of mutual aid alongside neighboring communities, they have repeatedly contained fires that might otherwise have devastated large portions of the Pines.
It is no exaggeration to say that their vigilance, professionalism, and courage have helped ensure the survival of the community itself. Without them, the Fire Island Pines as we know it today might not exist.
Fire Island Pines Arts Project (est. 1986)
Entertainment in Fire Island Pines goes well beyond Tea or house parties. Home to many artists, performers and other creative people, the Pines summer entertainment also includes plays, musicals, art shows, dance festivals and cabaret performances. Many of these are produced by the Fire Island Arts Project or FIPAP, which was founded in 1986. The organization also helps emerging artists with annual residency program created in partnership with New York Theatre Barn.
Pines Profile - Nicole LaFountaine (b. 1969)
For almost a century, the LaFountaine’s have been at the beating heart of Fire Island Pines—building homes, fighting fires, raising glasses, raising roofs, and raising voices. Nicole LaFountaine stands as the third generation of that legacy: a woman who turned fire into renewal, theatre into community, and heritage into hope.