Citizens throughout the 1700s and early 1800s served as the town’s unofficial fire department, operating a rather organized bucket brigade they called General Hastings Bucket Brigade. However, after a large fire in 1812 tore through town, it was determined that a dedicated fire suppression option should be available to protect life and property. Members of the newly formed No. 4 Fire and Hose Company traveled to Boston to purchase a hand tub they would call Old Number 4. It’s not clear if this was bought brand new or purchased from the Boston Fire Department.
In 1852, a village precinct was established to raise money for the department. That same year, another hand tub called General Stark was procured and put into service alongside the now forty-year-old one. These pieces of apparatus were housed in an engine house west of V# 17 5 (1860 map of Sullivan County). The village precinct dissolved in 1881 and fire protection was handled by a new town-run department. They sold the existing engine house in 1894, and in 1898 both hand tubs were sold. The department relied on an unknown piece of apparatus at this time.
In 1906, the Old Number 4 Fire and Hose Company was established with 21 members. Their hose wagon was housed in a shed at the Connecticut River National Bank property on Summer Street. While this wagon was the primary fire suppression apparatus, extra equipment was moved to scenes via private wagon, sleigh, or hearse. This may have been short lived, as the 1908 town report lists $319 spent on fire apparatus. While this is a small sum today, back then it may have been enough to purchase an entire apparatus.
The town had outgrown the shed by 1910, and that year they built a new two-story firehouse with 50’ hose tower across the street from the bank, located behind the town hall on Main Street. A second building used to house a locally built hose cart was considered the North Charlestown Fire Department; this was located “opposite of #156” but it is unclear on what street that is referencing.
In 1914 the department ordered a two-wheeled, manpowered Ajax chemical engine, and in 1920 its first motor-driven apparatus. A 1919 Ford Model T/Bowen, it was shipped to Charlestown in boxes via rail and constructed in town with the chemical tank from the Ajax engine. No new apparatus were delivered for over 10 years after this. In 1927, the town bought a Stewart engine with unknown size pump and 80 gallon tank. However, members found the apparatus unwieldly to drive and in 1935 the department bought a Chevrolet chassis to use in transporting the equipment originally found on the 1912 hose wagon. This truck was outfitted with an unknown size pump and 110 gallon tank.
In 1935, the department also received funding for a replacement to the Model T; another Chevrolet was delivered in 1936 and used to carry the chemical tank. Two years later, the North Charlestown hose house was sold and the department’s apparatus were consolidated in the Summer Street firehouse.
The department ran with that lineup of trucks until 1950, when an American LaFrance was ordered. Delivered in 1951, it had a 500 GPM pump and 500 gallon tank and was assigned to Engine 3. The following year the 1927 Stewart was traded to the New Hampshire Fire & Safety Company for a portable pump and hose.
In 1955, the department started fundraising with the intention of purchasing a rescue boat for use in the Connecticut River. This program continued over the next few years. The department joined the Southern Twin State Mutual Aid Association by 1959.
In 1961, another American LaFrance was delivered. This truck had an unknown size pump and tank. This was the only apparatus change that decade. In 1971, town reports listed the department also paying dues to the Connecticut River Valley Fire Mutual Aid Association. The following year, construction started on a new building for the fire and ambulance departments. This was built on Main Street (NH Route 12A) as a four-bay, one story building. In 1973, the department joined the Southwestern New Hampshire Mutual Fire Aid association as a contracted dispatch town.
In 1976, the department placed into service a new Engine 5: a 1976 Dodge/Pierce mini-pumper with 250 GPM pump and 275 tank. A Chevrolet van was disposed of at this time; it’s not clear when this van was acquired or what its designation and purpose were. A 1976 International chassis was procured and used to build a new tanker with the tank from one of the apparatus, but it’s not clear which one.
In 1980, a third American LaFrance engine was delivered, this time for Engine 1. It had a 1250 GPM pump and 750 gallon tank. In 1986, the department sold the 1935 Chevrolet engine and the following year a Ford F-350 forestry unit was put into service as Engine 2.
One final American LaFrance was delivered in 1991; this one was assigned to Engine 4 and had a 1500 GPM pump and 750 gallon tank. When it was delivered, the 1961 American LaFrance was disposed of. In 1996, the Dodge/Pierce assigned to Engine 5 was replaced with a 1995 Ford F-550/EJ Murphy mini-pumper with 500 GPM pump, 270 gallon tank, and 30 gallon foam tank. That same year the department joined the 911 telephone system, put into service a Car-Mate trailer for towing equipment, and said goodbye to the Charlestown Ambulance service as it moved out of the station to its own dedicated building.
The mystery 1976 tanker was replaced in 1999 with an International/Valley unit with 500 GPM pump and 1800 gallon tank. This was assigned to Tanker 7.
Two new units were put into service in 2007. The first, a 2007 Ford F-550/Valley with 500 GPM pump, 270 gallon tank, and 30 gallon foam tank was put into service as Brush 1. This replaced the other Ford F-550 that was running as Engine 2. Another pickup, this time a Ford F-350, was designated Utility 1.
By the time 2009 rolled around, Engine 1’s 1980 American LaFrance was permanently out of service due to the pump failing inspection. The department made a plea to the town to purchase a Pierce engine, but the town voted against this deal. However, in 2011, the department was able to replace the American LaFrance with the delivery of a new Spartan/Metalfab pumper with 1500 GPM pump, 1000 gallon tank, and 30 gallon foam tank.
In 2015, the town did not renew its contract with Southwestern New Hampshire Mutual Fire Aid, and began dispatching ambulance and fire calls from its police communication center. The following year, the town obtained its first-ever set of Jaws of Life, meaning they were no longer required to call on surrounding towns for bad car accidents. A Polaris Ranger UTV was delivered in 2017, giving the department better off-road capabilities for rescues and brush fire responses.
In 2019, while operating at the scene of a motor vehicle accident on Route 12, Engine 1’s Spartan was hit by debris when an Amtrak train that was unable to stop in time smashed into the vehicle involved in the accident. The windshield was destroyed and one firefighter had to be transported to the hospital for minor injuries. While the truck was out of service for repairs, the department was loaned a recently retired engine from the Hartford, Vermont Fire Department. The truck, Hartford’s ex-Engine 2, was a 1996 E-One with 1000 GPM pump, 1000 gallon tank, and 50 gallon foam tank. It was returned to Hartford when the Spartan was fixed, and subsequently sold to Brighton, Vermont.
In 2020, the department took delivery of a Ferrara Cinder engine with a 1500 GPM pump, 750 gallon tank, and 20 gallon foam tank. This was designated Engine 2.
