The Chichester Fire Department was established in 1936 when a number of citizens came together. Prior to this date, fires were put out by various means; in 1915, voters authorized the purchase of 24 fire extinguishers to be placed around town, and the fire departments of Pittsfield, Concord, and Epsom were called upon to assist at larger fires.
The department purchased its first truck soon after its inception, although it took about a year to outfit with all the necessary equipment. This was a 1934 Chevrolet, ex-tanker truck, bought from Huckins Garage in neighboring Epsom. Members added a 150 GPM pump and 150 gallon tank. It was lettered as Engine 1 and housed in a stone shed purchased from a citizen, located at 49 Main Street. This truck was damaged during a response in the Hurricane of 1938; it was responding to Epsom when the cab’s roof was ripped off by a fallen tree. It was replaced quickly and, four years later, they added a hose reel to the truck.
In 1947, the department obtained a used 1943 Chevrolet pumper that had served in the Army at Camp Devens in Massachusetts. It had a 500 GPM pump and 200 gallon tank. It was assigned to Engine 2. In addition to this purchase, the department bought a 500 GPM trailered pump through surplus. It was sold in 1949 due to lack of use and space considerations.
In 1950, the town once again purchased a used military apparatus. This time it was a 1942 Chevrolet and was outfitted with an 800 gallon tank and unknown size pump. The 1934 Chevrolet assigned to Engine 1 was sold in 1951, and the new truck was designated Tank 3.
The following year, the department became a founding member of Suncook Valley Mutual Aid Fire Association, one of the first no-cost mutual aid agreements in the United States. This agreement lasted until the mid-1970s; by that time, founding members (Chichester, Epsom, Loudon, Canterbury, Boscawen, Salisbury, Strafford, Bow, Dunbarton, Pembroke, Allenstown, Northwood, Pittsfield, Barnstead Parade, Center Barnstead, and Alton) had moved on to the Capital Area Fire Mutual Aid Compact or Lakes Region Mutual Fire Aid.
In 1953, the department needed more space and built a new two-bay station on the same lot as the stone shed. In fact, it was built around the outgoing station! When the new one was ready to be occupied, the old station was torn down and carted out piece by piece.
The department ran with its two engines for the next decade. In 1964, the first brand-new engine was delivered to Chichester. It was a Chevrolet/Howe with a 500 GPM pump and 800 gallon tank. This was assigned to Engine 1.The department added an addition to the station in 1964. The following year, a new 250 GPM pump was purchased for the 1942 tanker.
Sometime around this year the town contracted with the Center Barnstead Fire Department for EMS service and paid into a fund (along with Pittsfield, Epsom, Northwood, Loudon, Strafford, and Gilmanton) to help that department purchase a new ambulance.
In 1965, the department purchased a used, 1957 Chevrolet oil truck and converted it into a 1000 gallon tanker with the 250 GPM pump it had bought for the 1942 tanker. It took the department a couple of years to complete the build, but in 1967 it was ready for full service. It would replace the 1942 tanker as Tank 1. While the department was constructing the truck, in 1966, it was once again a founding member of a mutual aid association, this time the Capital Area Mutual Aid Fire Compact (the compact would start dispatching Chichester in 1976).
The following year, Engine 2’s Chevrolet went out of service for an extended period after the pump failed. In 1968, the department had it fixed and it was back in service. In 1969, a lieutenant outfitted and donated a 1962 GMC utility truck to the department for use as a forestry engine. It was assigned to Engine 3.
At this time, the department had four apparatus (three engines and one tanker) but were running out of space at the station. One of the apparatus had to be kept under town hall. To remedy this, a second addition was added to the station in 1970 which allowed all four trucks to be housed at the fire department.
A new 300 GPM pump/1000 gallon tanker was delivered in 1975, replacing the oil truck as Tank 1. Painted yellow-green, it was built by Howe on an International Loadstar chassis. The outgoing truck was sold to the Bridgewater Fire Department. That same year, the Chichester Emergency Medical Squad was founded as a separate entity, but quickly merged with the fire department. By 1977, they were using Engine 3’s GMC as a first-responder vehicle to assist patients before Center Barnstead could arrive. In addition to the four suppression apparatus, Chichester had two surplus trucks on the roster at this time that had been loaned by the state. One was a 1953 Jeep utility.
In 1979, the department made a number of upgrades. Firstly, the pump on Tank 1 underwent a rebuild. Next, a 1967 Dodge/Providence rescue that originally served in the Anthony Fire District of Coventry, Rhode Island was purchased using donated funds; this was used as Rescue 1 by the EMS side of the department, replacing the GMC of Engine 3. This went back to forestry duty.
During this time, the department had been storing an additional apparatus, a 1958 Seagrave, for the NH Fire Service Training program. In 1980, it was determined that the town should utilize this apparatus in place of the 1943 Chevrolet being used as Engine 2. For the next six months, the Chevrolet was placed in storage and the Seagrave used as a frontline piece. In 1981, it and the Chevrolet were replaced with the delivery of a 1981 GMC/Middlesex with 1000 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank for Engine 2.
In 1984, the department put into service a Chevrolet Blazer for use as a utility vehicle. In 1986, the department acquired a 1952 GMC/Farrar 6×6 from the 3-D Fire Apparatus Company. It was outfitted with a 750 GPM pump and 1300 gallon tank. The department was assigned to Tank 2 and stored under the town hall for use as needed.
In 1989, Center Barnstead shut down the ambulance program. Chichester signed a contract with Raceway Ambulance located in neighboring Loudon, but also purchased an unknown year GMC/Wheeled Coach ambulance to serve to replace the 1967 rescue truck as Rescue 1. The 1967 Dodge was traded in as part of the purchase. Also in 1989, Engine 3’s 1963 GMC was replaced by a 1967 Jeep Kaiser which was designated Forestry 1. And that same year, the 1964 Chevy/Howe that had been serving as Engine 1 was put into reserve status.
In 1990 a Ford C/E-One pumper was delivered for Engine 2. It had a 1250 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank. The 1981 GMC/Middlesex was reassigned to an unknown designation (possible Engine 3), as it had originally served as Engine 2. Around this time Tank 1 was refurbished by Valley, and Tank 2 was traded in as partial payment for this service.
Due to the growth of the department, a new station became a priority in the early 1990s. By 1995, funding and land had been obtained. In 1996, a new three-bay station opened at 22 Main Street.
In late 1996, Raceway Ambulance would no longer provide Chichester with EMS services. Therefore, in 1997 Chichester and neighboring Loudon came to a unique EMS agreement as both towns started their own ambulance transporting services. Under this system, each town would alternate as the primary EMS service for both town. If Chichester had a medical call and it was Loudon’s week as primary, Loudon would respond mutual aid automatically, and vice versa.
As part of this change, Rescue 1 was converted to serve strictly as an ambulance. An unknown year Ford ambulance was donated by a local family to be used as a backup, designated Rescue 3. The extrication equipment and cascade system originally placed on Rescue 1 were removed and placed in a 1978 Ford C heavy rescue with body work by Hammerly, purchased from the West Wyomissing Fire Department in Spring Township, PA. This was assigned to Rescue 2.
In 1997 a military surplus Chevrolet pickup was purchased. A 1984 model, it was designated Utility 1. One year later, the department was given a 1993 police cruiser from the police department. Is was used for personnel transportation and command purposes. And lastly, a new E-One Cyclone with 1500 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank was delivered for Engine 3, replacing the tanker truck.
Chichester has a long history of pioneering firefighting programs, such as no-cost mutual aid. In the late 1990s, the department created a fireground accountability system called the 20 Minute MARC (Manpower Accountability Roll Call) that was adopted by departments throughout the capital area and southern New Hampshire. The department also took advantage of the region’s technical college in Laconia, which has a fire science program. Select students were given the opportunity to live in the Chichester fire station and provide additional support when not in class.
In 2000, a brand-new Ford/PL Custom ambulance was delivered to the town which was assigned to Rescue 1 (later relettered to Ambulance 1). That year the department also traded in its 1953 Jeep forestry to the state, replaced by a 1978 Dodge Power Wagon with 150 GPM pump and 200 gallon tank for use as Forestry 2. It had previously served as a forestry unit in Bow.
In 2001, Forestry 1’s motor broke down and it was returned to the state. The 1984 Chevrolet was then converted to a brush truck by adding a 140 GPM pump and 250 gallon tank, and assigned to Forestry 1.
Rescue 2’s 1976 Ford heavy rescue was getting old by this time, so the department went in search of a newer model they could give second life to. They found a 1990 Pierce Dash rescue in Moriches, NY that was available for sale. It was delivered to Chichester in 2003. That same year a 2003 GMC SUV was delivered for use by the chief. In 2004, Millican’s Nursery donated a 2000 Kawasaki Mule for use in off-road emergencies. And in 2005, Tanker 1 was put out of service permanently and given to the highway department. The department did not replace this truck, relying on mutual aid for tankers.
In 2006 a 1971 2 ½ ton military truck was obtained and the department spent the next two years building it out for forestry purposes. In 2008, it was designated Forestry 3 and ready for service. Unfortunately, its transmission failed during its first use at a training burn and it was decommissioned and sold off.
In 2008, a new Ford/PL Custom was purchased and assigned to Ambulance 2, replacing the ambulance donated in 2000 that ran as Rescue 3. Two years later in 2010, the department upgraded its forestry capabilities with a 1986 GMC/Grumman that had originally served the Stone Ridge Fire Company in NY. It was assigned to Forestry 1, replacing the 1984 Chevrolet.
In 2013, an HME pumper with 1500 GPM pump and 2000 gallon tank was delivered for Engine 1. This replaced the 1980 Ford C/E-One of Engine 2, which was sold to Plainfield, MA. Two years later, the department purchased a 2014 Ford F-350/Kimtek forestry unit with 250 GPM pump and 160 gallon tank for use by Forestry 2.
In 2016, a Ford F-550/AEV ambulance was delivered for Ambulance 1; the 2000 Ford/PL Custom remained on the roster through at least 2020, although its exact use was unknown. The next year in 2017, Loudon decided it could no longer support the dual-town EMS structure and Chichester took over 24/7/365 ambulance service for the town, utilizing a combination of duty crew and on-call crews.
In 2020, the department purchased a third used heavy rescue, this time from Greenwood Lake, NY. It was a 2007 HME/Ahrens Fox, repainted from its original scheme of green with yellow stripe to Chichester’s white over red livery. A 2016 Ford PIU was also acquired by the department in 2020, likely from the police department.
The town ordered an HME pumper around 2021 with expected delivery in 2023 due to supply chain slowdowns. However, when the apparatus was finished and in transit from the dealer in early 2023, it was involved in a fatal accident on a highway. The truck was totaled and eventually put up by the dealer for auction for parts. A replacement truck was ordered with another two-year waiting period began.
In 2023, the department purchased a new Kubota utility for use as Utility 1, replacing the Kawasaki. In 2024, Forestry 2’s Ford was involved in an accident while operating off-road at a fire and was written off. The following year it was replaced with a 2017 Ford with 250 GPM pump and 160 gallon tank. The GMC of Forestry 1 was also replaced that year with a 2006 Ford/Pierce with 1000 GPM pump and 300 gallon tank that originally served in the Coatesville, PA VA Hospital Fire Department. It was designated Mini-Pumper 1.
In 2025, the department also received its new Engine 2, a 2025 HME/Alexis with 1500 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank. It would replace Engine 3, which was placed out of service permanently.
While the specific timeframe of its use is unknown, the department also operated a 1991 E-One Protector with 1250 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank that was loaned from Loudon. It served as Engine 2.
