PLATTSBURGH -- The operation of one of the oldest volunteer firefighting departments in Clinton County will be extinguished.

Rescue Hose No. 5 will cease operations at the end of this year in a cost-cutting measure.

Its duties will be absorbed by the Mooers Fire Department in the northern part of the county and by the South Plattsburgh Fire Department in the south.

"There is no question that it is sad to see an end of an era like this," Clinton County Emergency Services Director Eric Day said. "But at the end of the day, there will be some benefits. The same air service will still be provided, which none of us can live without, and there will be some cost savings."

Rescue Hose has operated as a city volunteer company since 1895. Its main duty is to provide air-packs to firefighters at fire sites.

The city has borne the bulk of the $45,000 yearly cost to run the department, which is housed in a building on U.S. Oval.

Each of the 21 departments outside the city paid about $700 per year toward the cost of running the "Hosers," mostly for insurance.

The rest of the Rescue Hose budget -- about $30,000 -- was paid by the city.

Recent budget woes in the city forced officials to examine ways of saving money. Another issue was Rescue Hose's dwindling numbers.

Day said the squad has only 11 active members, and it was not unusual for only two to show up at some fire calls.

Plattsburgh City Fire Chief Paul Williams said that with 85 percent of Rescue Hose calls being outside the city, it is only fair that the other departments help pay more.

A Clinton County Fire Advisory Board committee offered three options.

One option was to disband Rescue Hose completely and have each department provide its own air supply.

But that would be too costly, Day said, and would create a duplication of services.

An air compressor costs up to $35,000, with about $1,500 in annual service costs.