50 years later: Rookie talks about fire on Poughkeepsie Bridge
In 1974, 19-year-old Bill Ringwood, a Poughkeepsie native, joined the City of Poughkeepsie Fire Department alongside his father William and Uncle Thomas. Four months after joining the department, Bill was one of the 125 firemen tasked with extinguishing a fire on the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge over the Hudson River.
“It may not have been the biggest fire we’ve ever had in the city, but it was the most difficult,” his uncle, and the department’s captain, Thomas Ringwood, told local press at the time.
The May 8, 1974 fire, believed to be sparked by a passing freight train, caused thick, black smoke to envelope the city, and embers to drop on homes below. The bridge was left untouched for 35 years after the fire.
50 years after the fire, Bill Ringwood will be back on the bridge – now readapted as the Walkway Over the Hudson State Park – to discuss the “Fire on the Bridge.” The free Walkway Talks Lecture Series will take place at the Walkway’s East Gate Plaza in Poughkeepsie on Sunday, May 19, 2024 from 2:30 - 3:30pm. More info, and a link to recorded events available at walkway.org.
