HISTORY OF THE FAIRFAX FIRE DEPARTMENT

AS RECORDED IN THE FAIRFAX
ITS CREATION AND DEVELOPMENT - 1763-1976 BOOK

The above sketch of the Old 1890 Fire Wagon was drawn By Larry Parsons

In the early days if a fire broke out the church bells were rung and all able-bodied men responded with a bucket and formed a brigade. It's doubtful that much property was saved although it is rumored that one building was saved with "snowballs."

Although no records have been found as to exactly when or from where, some time between 1880 and 1900, Fairfax got its very first Fire Apparatus consisting of a hand drawn and hand operated fire pump, it was said that it would pump water through a l l/2 hose to beat the band as long as water and manpower held out, but was never very effective at drafting so the tank was usually supplied by the "Bucket Brigade." From all examples of this type it would date in construction to the early 1800's. This rig was stored at various times in places such as the cellar of the town clerks office and at one time the funeral home.

From all the information available it is believed to have been lent for a parade and never returned and is commonly thought to reside in a museum in Mass. Having talked to some of the village elders I was told that there was no Fire Department as such, only volunteers. It may be that the village improvement society may have originally purchased it or that it was locally built. Even today you may hear a fire truck called a fire wagon, but early ones truly were.

During the late 1930's until our present department was formed, the Milton Fire Department furnished most of our fire protection and even though they were good it was often too late except to save the cellar.

In 1947 the town received the loan of a trailer mounted motorized pump from Civil Defense and several vehicles about town had a hitch to tow it. At this time it was voted in town meeting to buy some fire apparatus and a used truck was bought down country, but on its journey to Fairfax it unraveled its engine and the seller was promptly told to come and get it.

In 1948 the present department really got its start when the voters agreed to bond for a new fire pumper. The American Lafrance Co. of Elmira, N.Y. supplied the apparatus on a new Ford chassis from C. P. Smith of Burlington. A garage next to the present firehouse was bought from Malcolm Howard and it was renovated to hold the fire truck. An overhead door was installed along with a siren on the roof. The office was upstairs and was nearly large enough for three card tables. Two trap doors were fashioned with an archway and rack constructed between them and this served as the hose drying rack. The hoses were pulled up one side and draped over the rack with the ends handing down both sides; it served the purpose. The alarm system was by telephone and was operated for several years by "Central" but with the arrival of the dial phone it was moved to the funeral home and was there until November of 1977 and was very effective. A repeater siren was needed down the hill so one was installed on the old Shepardson store roof. The original crew consisted of about 20 men, several of whom are still active. The first year was rather stormy and "Chiefs" had title for as little as several weeks or months.

In 1954 the firemen helped the town buy a second vehicle from army surplus. This well-used 1944 Dodge 4X4 was to be used to lighten the load on the #1 truck and was loaded with the portable pump and hose and other equipment. At this time the firemen and other volunteers extended the fire station to nearly double its original size. At some time in the early 1960's, a 500-gallon pump was grafted to the front of this truck and was belt driven which did not prove to be satisfactory so it was later refitted with a chain drive. This set up made some rig in that it could usually get to the water and supply a large quantity. Later a tank was added with a small pump and several lengths of garden hose. This made a very good set up for grass fires in that you could pump and roll at the same time and the 4-wheel-drive let you go most everywhere.

Another project of the fire department was the construction of a dam on Stewart's brook. A. A. King was the engineer and many firemen and volunteers turned out to help. This is the main supply of water for the entire hill and never goes dry.

In 1965 the town had a chance to buy the garage next to the firehouse that had been at one time the M. V. Hicks funeral home and hardware store. This was done and work was laid out to make it the new firehouse. The sliding doors were removed and sold to the Franklin Fire Dept. and served them until a tragic fire disposed of not only them but also the station and all of their equipment. A pair of overhead doors was obtained from the Ratte garage and are still in use after having been fitted with electric door openers in the last several years. A new furnace was also installed, as were new lights and a full-length hose rack. Although this is an old building we have much more room and at times have had 5 trucks inside.

Fairfax was one of the first in the area to recognize the need for a fire tanker since many times there just is no water near a fire and in 1965 we obtained a 1500-gallon tank truck from C. P. Smith Petroleum in Burlington. This truck, a 1955 Ford was equipped with a 1000 gallon folding tank and a portable pump and hose and is still in service. The siren on it came from state surplus and arrived to us in its original carton marked, "Rush, for the Governor's Vehicle."

A good supply of water always being a problem and since we had the room for it, a second tanker was added to the fleet in 1973. This tanker, a 1963 GMC with an 1800-gallon tank was purchased from Vermont Petroleum of Montpelier. It was delivered to the Middlesex outfit where a large gate was installed and the wall between compartments cut away. Several runs were made by it before it received its coat of red paint. The beacon came from a wrecker and the siren, well used, from the former Essex Junction Police chief. This truck is also still in service but is to be replaced in the near future.

In the March meeting of 1973 the town's people being shown the need for a new pumper decided to blow the entire revenue sharing check for it.

After months of meetings and many measurements, to be sure we could get the truck inside, the contract was let to the Middlesex Fire Equipment Co. of Montpelier to build the apparatus on a new International chassis purchased from Don Bell with as big an engine as we could-get in it. The pump chosen was a 1000 GPM Darley that can be primed with all the gates open and is heated from the trucks cooling system to prevent winter freeze ups.

There were some trade offs in the specifications such as getting a coat and boot compartment instead of a two-tone cab, but the finished product came out very nice. With the new truck came many compartments, a load of both sizes of new hose, a generator, smoke ejector and flood lights along with other tools of the trade that we never had.

Fairfax received the new truck in December 1973 and after acceptance tests it was pressed into service. Old #1 having served its term well for 25 years and 12,000 miles was sold to the town of Troy, Vt. and I believe some of us had tears when it went down the road with its own peculiar whistling sound.

In 1976 old #2 returned from a Fletcher fire looking like a Casey Jones steamer with a ruptured boiler but it did get home on its own. The diagnosis was old age and terminal illness so it was stripped and sent to graze in other pastures and is still going for all that is known. Replacement for #2 was a former wrecker for LeClairs Arco, a 1972 Chevrolet 4-wheel-drive. To it has been grafted the front mounted pump, the grass fire tank and pump and all the rest of the things from the old truck. A frame covered with metal was built by Frank Cain and covered by a canvas.

If all the stories could be told of this department's exploits, I am sure that the book would be larger than a catalog, but each and every person that has served it has left his mark in some way.

Shown above, courtesy of Mike & Margie Cain is the Old Fairfax Fire Station before it became a Fire station.

Shown above, is a photo of the Old Fairfax Fire Station before it was torn down after the new one was built. Presently our Fairfax Historical Society sits on that site.

I would welcome any additional stories or comments on the Old Fire Department and certainly would love an update on our new Fire Station and Department should anyone feel so inclined as to write one up.