Robert “Bobby” Troncillito, has been involved with the Marlboro Hose Company for 60 years; joining when he was just 19 years old. It seems like ‘famiglia’ played a big role in that decision.

 

“First of all back then, my uncle, Dick McMullen, was Chief and my father was in the fire department and my mother was in the Ladies Auxiliary,” he said. “When the fire whistle went off, my father went and I jumped in the car with him...that’s when the bug got in me and as the years go by, the bug is still with me at 78 years old.”

 

Troncillito has held every position in the company and has all of his badges and citations proudly on display at his home in Milton. He still serves as a driver.

 

“It was a heck of a run; 36 years as Chief [1979-2015]. You had your ups and downs, your good days and your bad days and you have disciplinary problems that you have to deal with like in any organization, it’s the nature of the beast. But I was blessed with good Commissioners and they are the bosses and I reported to them.”

 

Troncillito said, looking back on his long career, “there was a pride I took in doing what I had to do, not only as a junior officer but when I came up finally as Chief. We’d get to a scene and my biggest reward was a thank you from whomever we went to help.”

 

In the mid-1990s Troncillito began collecting all kinds and sizes of model fire trucks and apparatus to the point that part of his house resembles a museum. He subscribes to a few fire magazines and finds it hard to resist the advertisements for small or large scale models for sale.

 

Troncillito’s wife Alice said they met because, “of a tragedy wrapped around a blessing.” In 1999 her husband, William Donaldson, was in a motor vehicle accident that claimed his life just two days before Christmas.   

 

Alice understands a firefighter’s commitment; they get up in the middle of the night to help total strangers. When she married Bobby in 2006, she told him that when a call comes in, “it doesn’t matter if we’re in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner or in a checkout line at a grocery store with a full basket or whatever it is, you’ll never hear me complain because I deeply appreciate the service they provide to our community. I think it’s wonderful what they do.”

 

Alice recalled promising Bobby that he could display his then small collection of models and memorabilia, thinking he would never even fill up one curio cabinet. Today, it has gotten to the point where a number of cabinets are now full and shelves had to be added in several areas of the house. In addition, friends keep an eye out for memorabilia rarities for them. 

 

Alice created a spreadsheet to ensure they do not buy an item that is already in the collection. They even bring the binder with them when they are out looking at items at trade shows or marketplaces. The couple expect the collection will keep growing, but at this point it is pushing up against space considerations.

 

Bobby said the collection reflects his love of the fire service.

 

“It has been very rewarding for me for what I have accomplished, not only in my own fire district in Marlboro, but I am one of the Directors of the Ulster County Fire Chief’s Association; I belong to the New York State Fire Chief’s Association and the Firefighters Association of the State of New York [FASNY]; I could go on an on with all of the agencies that I am involved in.” Bobby was also instrumental in establishing a lemon law for emergency vehicles in New York State in 2019.

 

Every year in early December the couple transform their house into a magical holiday village setting using 55 ceramic firehouse models, little firemen next to Santa, small trees, telephone poles, houses and a bit of snow.

 

“Every fire house is different and there are no two alike; they are really cool and each has a LED light,” he said. Alice said they also set up two life-sized Christmas trees in the foyer that have only firematic ornaments on them, “and in the front room Bobby sets up his Lionel model trains that he had as a child.” Bobby said all of the cars behind the engine are, “some sort of fire car and I have a burning house that actually smokes, a tanker that has rolled over and flickers and a train station house.”  

 

Alice wasn’t kidding when she said, “decorating for Christmas is a pretty serious thing.” The couple begin planning for the holiday season with their children and grandchildren just after Thanksgiving. Bobby said, “We really try to make it a fun as possible for everybody and when you have a houseful of family, friends, and usually my sister, my brother-in-law and my nephew, we have a heck of a crowd.”