On November 8, 1908, at 8:00pm, forty male residents of the West Point area met in the old Hallmeyers Hall for the purpose of organizing a fire company.  Weekly meetings were held for a time until plans could be formalized.  On January 9, 1909, the company purchased 4 Phoenix hand extinguishes, 4 Keystone hand extinguishers, and 2 dozen galvanized buckets.  They also bought some lumber and built a hand drawn cart, and ladders in 12, 20, and 30 ft lengths.  These were then placed on the cart along with all of the extinguishers and served as the first piece of equipment at a cost of only two-hundred fifty dollars.  Shortly thereafter, an application was filed with the Montgomery County Commissioners at the courthouse in Norristown, Pennsylvania, for a charter.  The Montgomery County authorities saw fit to grant such a charter and the same was enacted upon on October 4, 1909.

     The newly formed fire company was then granted the use of a steam whistle, which was mounted on the powerhouse of the Montgomery Traction Co. on April 19, 1909.  Mr. D. H. Powers was elected as the first chief of the company.

     It was not long before firemen were able to purchase the corner lot on Second Street and Garfield Avenue (site of old fire house).  Within a year they had started to erect their firehouse and were able to move into their new quarters in May of 1912.  Within  the next year, the fire company had placed an order with the American LaFrance Engine Company for a hand drawn four wheel chemical apparatus with two thirty-five gallon chemical tanks.  This apparatus was delivered to the company in August of 1913 for the cost of eight hundred dollars.

     The chemical engine was hand drawn by a long rope and the duty of each fireman was specifically stated in the by-laws, "In going to or returning from a fire, the drag rope shall be in the place of every member."

     With the approach of the automotive age, the fire apparatus were motorized and in May of 1917, the fire company purchased a 1917 Hudford truck.  The two thirty-five gallon chemical tanks were removed from the hand drawn engine and were placed on the new truck.

     On June 2, 1924, Raymond Hoot was appointed Deputy Sheriff of the fire grounds, thus starting the fire company's first fire police.

     Moving forward once again, the fire company awarded a contract to the Hahn Company for a pumper equipped with booster tanks.  This equipment was delivered to the company on June 3, 1929 at a cost of $3,700.00.  This truck was affectionately known as "Ezmirelda."

     Through the courtesy of Mr. John Stong, the fire company was able to purchase a lot on Garfield Avenue (site of current fire house), Mr. Stong having lent them the money.  The fire company floated bonds to finance a new building and were able to move into their new quarters in 1942.

     With the steady growth of the community, it soon became apparent that additional and more efficient equipment would be needed.  During this time, firemen were conducting an annual carnival and were able to place an order with the Mack Company for a 750 GPM pumper (pictured above) equipped with a two-stage centrifugal type pumper at a cost of $10,481.00.  The order was placed on August 15, 1947 and was paid for in full on October 6, 1947.

     On December 8, 1950 the fire company purchased a 1946 Ford pick-up truck, which was converted into a small utility truck and carried extra hose, brooms, tarps and other pieces of equipment. 

     On October 1, 1951, company placed an order with Ebert's Motors of Lansdale for a 1951 International chassis and awarded a contact to Harwick Manufacturing of West Point to build the body according to the company's specifications.  The truck was to have a three-stage centrifugal pump.  This truck was delivered to the company in October of 1952.

     It wasn't long before the company decided to modernize once again, and so in 1953 purchased two-way radios for the Mack and the International and a receiver was placed in the engine room.

     In 1956 the fire company appointed Rev. Ray Ahrens as the fire company Chaplain and for a time he was the only firefighting chaplain in the state of Pennsylvania.

     In 1957, a Junior Fireman Brigade was formed consisting of boys between the ages of fourteen and eighteen.  This unit is completely self-governed by the boys who have elected their own officials.

More history of the fire department will be added in the future months. Stop back and look for the continuing history of the Fire Department.

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