Just think that over a hundred years ago there was no cellphones, no 911 emergency system, no fire department as we know it today! If your home caught on fire, you had to rely on whoever happened to be nearby to help you extinguish the fire, then hopefully you were within reach of a pump, or a water resource. Nowadays the village of Newcomerstown is in the very capable hands of the Newcomerstown Emergency Rescue Squad & Division of Fire when it comes to the need for fire control and rescue.
Early records indicate that the village had a volunteer fire department well before 1870. The very early fire-fighting process consisted of a bucket brigade which was comprised of volunteers and whichever citizens were nearby, and available to assist. The brigade would use water from the Tuscarawas River, Ohio-Erie Canal, or Buckhorn Creek.