Few institutions have survived the test of time as successfully and continuously as our Fire Department. And few have known as many continual changes, with improvements in equipment, increasing facility requirements, and expanding responsibilities. Considering that first responders need to acquire significant skills, invest in substantial training, and subject themselves to life-threatening risks, it’s incredible that our small army of volunteers has dutifully and steadily provided emergency services for our town for a century.
Before the establishment of an organized fire department, a bucket brigade of neighbors responded to fires, the church bell sounding the alarm to townsfolk.
The fire department – that was the bucket brigade. Everyone went with their pails and their buckets…everybody come from here and yonder galloping away either on horseback or with their wagons full of pails and they dragged water from wherever they could get it – to put it out. We had no fire department. At that time they rang the churchbell to call everybody – later they called on the telephone and rang ten – that was the fire signal, ten rings on the telephone. And everybody picked up and they told where the fire was.
Gertrude Pearl from Hampton Remembers
In 1920, the Hampton Betterment Society was established to formalize a strategy to fight fires. The original plan involved a 40 gallon soda acid extinguisher, which was stored in a shed at the Congregational Church in the summertime and the cellar of the Chelsea Inn during the cold months.
The fire company had a two-wheeled fire extinguisher narrow enough to go through doors. That was the beginning. I think they had arrangements so it could be towed all right but it was hung pretty heavy on the lower end – kinda tippy. I don’t know as they ever used it. It was soda acid. What a mess that could make! If it got onto your clothes and they got into water they just disappeared!
Harold Stone from Hampton Remembers
The Fire Department was officially organized in 1929. There were 32 members: Richard Burchnall, Stanton Burdick, Charles Burnham, Jesse Burnham, Edward Chapel, Robert Chapel, Roger Davis, Joseph A. Estabrooks, Joseph F. Estabrooks, Arthur Fitts, John Fitts, Ambrose Fitzgerald, Edward Fitzgerald, Francis Fitzgerald, Richard Fitzgerald, Joseph Gennette, George Gunther, George Hall, John Hines, Ray Huling, Haig Iskiyan, Lincoln Iskiyan, Carl Jewett, Elmer Jewett, Wallace Jewett, John Lewis, Clinton Oliver, William Oliver, Rueben Pearl, Leo Reeves, and Harold Stone. Robert McDermott was the first chief. Warren Stone was the “mascot”. The following year, the first firehouse was built near the corner of Old Route 6 and Main Street, and the first firetruck, an American LaFrance, was purchased.
My husband had been trying to get people interested in a fire department for quite a while but it was really when Mr. Fred Aldred got interested and the Streets and some other summer people that together they got things going. In 1930, we built a firehouse and then we needed money to buy a truck. Some large donations were given but we had to make a lot of money so we had all sorts of money-making affairs at that firehouse every week until we got our bills paid. We had whist parties, minstrel shows, clambakes, dances, auctions, plays, bake sales. It took a great deal of work to get that fire company started. At the end of 1930 we bought our first fire truck, a rebuilt American LaFrance. All the firemen rode on the truck, hanging onto a rail along the sides – but they were sometimes so cold they said they didn’t know whether to go fast and get home sooner or go slow because it was so cold. They were right out in the elements, always!
Anna McDermott
With the acquisition of a 1941 International Tank Truck and a 1953 American LaFrance Pumper, the need for a larger facility was growing increasingly evident. The original firehouse was sold to the Town of Hampton in 1960 and would serve as the Town Hall for the next thirty years. The parcel for the new firehouse was purchased at its present site, and the building project was completed in 1961, through fundraising, donations of goods and services, and the volunteer efforts of many townsfolk who contributed their time and applied their skills to constructing the new firehouse. A testament to the talent and commitment of townsfolk, the building stores emergency trucks and materials and serves as a meeting place, as well as a venue for private and public events, most notably the department’s “Annual Ham and Bean Dinner”, a perennial favorite.
Requirements and equipment continued to expand, and so did the building. In 1969, an addition was built, in 1987, a second story, and in 2005, a large door was installed to accommodate the five fire trucks, gator, trailer, and water rescue boat. As with all projects, construction efforts relied on the town’s volunteers. In 2018, voters approved $500,000 in funds for many improvements: the repair of the roof and the building’s siding, installation of energy efficient windows and doors, insulation, an updated electrical system, and most importantly, an addition to facilitate access to emergency vehicles, making all equipment readily accessible when responding to calls. This expense would prove its worth when the Hampton-Chaplin Ambulance Corps closed its doors in 2020, and the Fire Department would serve as first responders to medical emergencies, relying on its volunteers and equipment, with a local ambulance service providing transport when necessary.
Though the Fire Department was always State certified for R1 Response Supplemental, there were some changes required in order to provide the expanded services when the Ambulance Corps dissolved, including the need to add two additional officers, an Emergency Medical Services Captain and an EMS lieutenant. Currently there are eight Emergency Medical Responders who are required to take a college class and a State test, recertifying every three years. These members answer all medical calls and motor vehicle accidents with the Fire Department’s service truck, which is equipped with all necessary medical supplies. The EMRs treat the patients prior to the arrival of the ambulance, which is simultaneously dispatched. Other members of the Fire Department respond to emergencies in order to support the EMRs, often needed to lift patients, obtain supplies, and clear the scenes. The firetrucks automatically respond to all automobile accidents and structure fires; several members have attained Fire Fighter 1 and 2 Certifications, which also involves training and testing. Though recertification is not required annually, members must complete continuing education courses. These include cold water rescue, vehicle extrications, chimney fire management, the use of breathing apparatus, to name a few.
With the closing of the Ambulance Corps, most of the calls the Fire Department answers are medical emergencies. Last year alone, the department responded to 89 medical calls, nine fires, and 19 accidents, as well as removing hazardous trees and wires, pumping basements, providing mutual aid to neighboring towns, for a total of 174 emergency dispatches. That amount averages three or four responses per week for our crew. Recruitment was simpler when there were over forty farms in town and over forty farmers available to assist in emergencies. Now it’s much more difficult to attract and retain volunteers. Several of the 22 active members work full time and are not available during their own work hours. The sign in front of the firehouse, which frequently supplies us with seasonal safety reminders, currently, and every once in a while, announces the need for volunteers, sometimes humorously with messages such as: “Accepting Applications. Odd hours. No pay.” Though the commitment can seem enormous, any one of the members can attest that the rewards are enormous, too.
This series was originally meant to feature our town’s barns while they’re still standing, diverging as well into the history of our institutions and traditions. Though few barns remain, and even fewer farms, and many of the institutions and traditions have disappeared, or lessened, Hampton’s spirit of volunteerism is still, thankfully, with us, and no entity personifies it as consistently as our Fire Department. We salute the 250 members, past and present, for their century of service, for selflessly sacrificing their time, too often their sleep, their expertise, courage and dedication. They are a great source of pride for “Our Rural Heritage”.