The Francestown Fire Department traces its history back to 1829, when the Francestown Engine Company was incorporated. This lasted until 1836, when a semi-private Francestown Engine Company was formed. Little is known about early firefighting equipment for the Francestown Engine Company. In 1851, the department acquired a Hunnemann hand tub for use at fire scenes. Equipment was housed in the southern end of the Village Store (FH Colburn Store).
The Francestown Engine Company disbanded in 1887 due to financial issues and was replaced by the Village Fire Precinct the same year; they were organized under the name “Mt. Crochet Engine Company.” Members bought an engine and spent time building cisterns around town for use when needed. Between then and 1892, a two-story, two-bay firehouse was built on Main Street.
The Mt. Crochet Engine Company and Village Fire Precinct continued to protect the town into the 1900s. By the time the 1930s rolled around, the town was ready to start its own official fire department and the precinct was shut down in 1937. (Even though they went dormant, the precinct continued to hold equipment on the record books until 1970, with a truck being held for some time at the FH Colburn Store.) The following year, in 1938, the town department took over the precinct house and placed the first official town apparatus, a 1930 Ford Model A, into service.
In 1939 the department added a second apparatus, a 1932 Diamond T “157” truck that was outfitted with hoses and a pump. Two years later, the department purchased used a 1926 White engine that had originally served the town of Marblehead, Massachusetts. With the increase in apparatus, the department began looking for a new location to house everything.
They moved into an old school house on the common in 1944. This site would later become the town hall annex and, as of 2024, serves as the town’s police station. But back then, it was an entirely different building. Two apparatus were housed here, while the third (the forestry rig, likely the 1932 Diamond T) was kept off-property at Nutting’s Barn on Clarksville Road. The department continued its growth in the 1940s. In 1946, the White engine was outfitted with a brand-new 200 GPM pump. And in 1947, the town bought a 1940 GMC truck and married it to a 500 gallon tank. With the addition of a 150 GPM pump, Francestown had its first tanker—designated (at some point in its life at least) as Tanker 3.
A brand-new International/Moody was purchased in 1954, the department refurbished the Diamond T, and the White was sold. By 1956, town reports listed tankers (plural) on the roster, but it’s not known if those were part of the existing roster or if other apparatus was purchased to supplement the fleet.
In 1959, the department bought a second Diamond T pumper, this time from an unknown town in Vermont. With the increase in apparatus on the roster, it was difficult to keep all of them in service throughout the year with the small quarters. The 1959 town report specifically mentioned having to decommission a tanker during the winter months, which reduced the town’s water capacity by half. This may have been a deciding factor in the town joining the Southwestern New Hampshire Fire Mutual Aid compact that same year, which streamlined the mutual aid process for towns throughout Cheshire and western Hillsborough counties.
The department continued its expansion in the 1960s. Changes included the following:
- 1961: Purchased a lighting trailer for use at nighttime scenes.
- 1961: Bought a 1951 Ford/Robinson brush breaker with 600 gallon tank from Orleans, Massachusetts for the sum of $326. The Model A Ford and GMC were sold to make room for this. This apparatus needed a lot of repairs soon after purchase, and the decision was made to decommission this truck in the winter rather than the tanker.
- 1963: A new firehouse was constructed on the same site as the school house station. This gave the department more room for its trucks.
- 1968: An International/Howe pumper with 750 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank was delivered, replacing one of the Diamond Ts. The new truck was assigned to Engine 1 and would later be assigned to Engine 2.
In November of 1972, the town contracted out ambulance service to the neighboring Peterborough Fire Department. It’s not clear how patients were transported to the hospital prior to this date. To supplement PFD with in-town first-responder services, a rescue squad was formed between 1973 and 1975. By 1978, they had purchased a used, 1967 ex-US Army ambulance for use as Rescue 1.
In 1979, a citizen long-term loaned a 4500 gallon tank trailer to the department for use as a tanker. It was towed to calls using an Army surplus tractor—but no information as to its specific make has been found.
The department moved homes once more in 1981. This station, located on Second New Hampshire Turnpike, was a three-bay structure that still stands as the department’s home as of 2024.
In 1983, the department replaced the 1967 ambulance of Rescue 1 with a Chevrolet/Reading light rescue. Designated Squad 1, it had a 150 GPM pump and 200 gallon tank. That same year, a another Chevrolet apparatus was delivered, this time a C070 chassis with Valley tanker body. It had a 750 GPM pump and held 2500 gallons of water and was assigned to Engine 3. Later in its life, it would be reassigned to Tanker 2.
By 1984, the department had a Jeep of some sort used for moving a generator to scenes—it was this year that the department outfitted the vehicle with a cab and lights. With these improvements, firefighters had a more functional piece of equipment for operating lights and power tools. It was likely assigned to M5 within a year or two of outfitting it. The department continued its handiwork in 1985, fully renovating the department’s original hand tub.
The 1987 town report mentions a 2000 gallon tanker listed as M6. In 1989, a Pierce Lance with 1000 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank was put into service as Engine 1. In 1991, the department bought a towable boat for use in water rescues.
The department operated with these apparatus until 1996, when a new tanker was placed into service. It was a Mack/Murphy with 1000 GPM pump and 2500 gallon tank. It’s likely that it replaced the aforementioned 2000 gallon tanker used as M6.
In 2001, the department replaced its rescue truck with a 2001 Valley apparatus built on a Ford F-550 chassis. With this delivery, Squad 1s rig was turned into a dedicated forestry truck, Brush 2. This would retire one of the department’s Army surplus forestry rigs (most likely a 1961 Dodge that the department had acquired at some time from the NH Division of Forests and Lands) once the conversion was complete in 2002.
In 2004, the department obtained an ATV through a grant, and in 2006 a four-bay annex was constructed next to the fire station to house this, along with the rescue boat, a forestry rig and water tank trailer, and generator. The same year, a new engine was delivered; this was a KME pumper with 1500 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank. It was assigned to Engine 1, with the Pierce becoming Engine 2. (Engine 2 would be refurbished the same year.)
In 2010, an International chassis was purchased for an unusual refurb project. The 1983 Chevrolet/Valley apparatus of Tanker 2 had the tank and body removed and placed onto the new chassis, with KME completing the transition work. The Chevrolet chassis was then discarded.
The department continued its tradition of building apparatus in house in 2014 with the conversion of a 1968 Jeep M715 surplus military truck into a brush rig. It was built to carry 150 gallons of water and took 200 manhours to complete. It was designated Brush 2—the same designation as the 1983 Chevrolet/Reading, so that rig was likely renumbered but it’s not clear to what.
A brand-new ambulance was delivered in 2016. The rig, a 2016 Ford/LifeLine, replaced the 2001 Ford/Valley rescue. The chassis of this truck was held onto for a future apparatus project. The body was sold off within a few years and the cab married to a used utility/brush truck body the department purchased for $8,000. When completed in 2021, it would be designated Brush 1, officially retiring the 1983 Chevrolet/Reading of Squad 1/Brush 2.
