When a massive fire completely destroyed a hotel on John Street in the Village of Millerton in 1891 due to the community’s then reliance on local residents forming a bucket brigade to battle fires, it became apparent that a fire department was necessary. Village trustees founded the municipality’s first firefighting company in January 1892.
“Subsequent to the hotel fire, the village was putting in some water lines,” said fire department co-historian Dave Vandebogart. “They had nine hydrants in the village to start with.
“On March 7, 1892, the hose company purchased a hand-drawn hose cart for $49.50, along with 500 feet of hose, six spanner wrenches, two nozzles, twenty-eight buckets and nine ladders.”