PHOTOS: The Massasoit Engine Co., of Damariscotta, recently restored its 1898 Rumsey hose reel. The fire company was not expecting it to be ready until May 2021, but restoration work was completed early, and the company picked it up three days before Christmas.
The Massasoit Engine Co. decided to restore the hose reel this year in honor of Maine’s bicentennial.
The Massasoit Engine Co. voted to purchase the hose reel on Dec. 6, 1898 for $40. The company unanimously voted to name their hose reel C. F. Norris after the company’s second foreman Charles Norris.
The first fire company was formed in Damariscotta in 1845, three years before the town was incorporated, after a devastating fire destroyed 33 buildings in the business district. Steps were taken to procure fire protection for the town and a movement was started to purchase a pumper from the William C. Hunneman & Co. in Boston, Mass.