Fremont has had some sort of municipal fire protection since the late 1800s. The Fremont Fire Company purchased a used, 1848 Hunneman hand tub in 1894; this came from an Windsor, VT where it was named Ascutney II. Once in Fremont, it was renamed to Poplin Pump 1. This was housed at a purpose-built, single-bay engine house constructed in 1894. It was located in the area of 314 Main Street. A hose carriage was also housed at the station.
Due to the town’s large forestry industry—eastern white pines had once been used for the Royal Navy—a large focus of fire suppression activities during the 1800s and early 1900s related to forest fires. While buildings certainly burned in early Fremont history—a large fire burned much of the village in 1890—most of the activities listed by the fire wardens in early 1900s town reports had to do with different brush fires in the area.
The firehouse was destroyed by fire on June 17, 1921 when a conflagration broke out.
In 1925, the town voted to look into automotive fire apparatus to replace the manual powered ones they owned. The following year, town representatives took a trip to Boston to look at that city’s chemical apparatus. With ideas in mind from Boston, the town purchased a 1925 Ford Model T chassis that year from Currier Motor Sales to be used in creating a chemical engine. American LaFrance did the outfitting of this apparatus, including a 500 gallon tank. Because the town’s firehouse had yet to be rebuilt, it was stored in the basement of the Spauling & Frost Cooperage. While the town did authorize money to be raised to build a new fire station in 1926, and acquired land for the same purpose, they did not build on it for about eight years.
In 1932, a second car chassis (a Lincoln) was purchased for use by the fire department. It was fitted up locally with a 175 GPM pump and 110 gallon tank, and served alongside the Model T. A Chevrolet tank truck was purchased in 1934 and was designated Tanker 1. In 1936, a new, two-bay firehouse was erected next door to Spaulding & Frost. A portable pump was added to the department’s cadre in 1935, which would play a large role in fighting wild fires.
In 1942, the department put into service another tanker. This was a 1936 1 ½ ton Chevrolet oil truck that was converted by the department for fire use. It was designated Tanker 2. Five years later in 1947, the Lincoln was sold and replaced with another Ford as Engine 1.
The 1950s saw a few changes to the department. The first, in 1958, was the addition of another tanker for Tanker 3. It’s not clear who made the truck (mention of a 1953 GMC tanker was made in later town reports, and a Fremont FD member says it was also a converted oil truck) or how much water it held. The following year, an addition was added to the fire house to give crews more room to move around. And in 1959, the Model T engine was sold to Gaslight Village, a Vaudeville-themed amusement park, in Lake George, New York. (It’s not known if the park had more than one fire truck, but it’s worth mentioning that when Gaslight Village closed in 1989, a Model T fire engine was kept by the successor park, Six Flags Great Escape, in the Ghost Town Firehouse.)
A new GMC/Howe engine was delivered in 1961. This truck had a 500 GPM pump and 500 gallon tank. It was designated Engine 2. 1968 saw the refurbishment of Tanker 3. The department also officially joined mutual aid agreements with surrounding towns in 1969. In 1970, Tanker 1 was placed out of service.
The department was given a 6×6 GMC troop carrier from Civil Defense in 1972. Designated Tanker 1, it was a 1956 model that was outfitted with a 900 gallon tank and used for brush fires. Because the town’s fire station was only two bays and not very deep at this time, the carrier was housed in the town shed. To alleviate this issue, in 1973 another addition was completed on the fire station. That same year, the department avoided disaster in December after a another large fire at Spaulding & Frost next door didn’t spread to the station. However, the mill was the source for the station’s heat, power, and communications, so the town had to scramble in the winter months to keep things running smoothly.
A second ex-military truck was acquired by Fremont in 1977, a ¾ ton 4WD brush truck that originally served as an Army Weapons Carrier. It was called Forestry (no number). A year later, the department put into service what would become the first of its most well-known apparatus, a tractor-drawn tanker. This truck was made possible after Poplin Farms donated a 1952, 5000 gallon Mobil tank to the department. The tractor was made out of an amalgamation of parts from two different US Government surplus 1958 Dodge tractors, one from Bayonne, NJ and one from Davisville, RI.
But this wasn’t the only new equipment the department took ownership of in 1978. It was also given a 1960 Dodge by the New England Regional Commission for forestry work (assigned as Forestry 1), and a trailer-mounted pump by an unknown benefactor.
In 1980, a new engine was delivered for Engine 3. It was a Howe build on a 1979 model year GMC chassis; it had a 1250 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank. It was around this time that the town started saving money for a potential substation to be located around Riverside Drive. This was because the station was once again filled to the brim with apparatus. In fact, two apparatus were kept in the town highway shed in the winter months due to the tractor-drawn tanker—usually stored outside in the summer—needing to be kept indoors in the winter. In 1982, the Chevrolet serving as Tanker 2 was sold, helping with the space issue.
In 1983, the tractor-drawn tanker was replaced with a newer model—a 1975 Mack tractor pulling a 7600 gallon tank trailer. It was assigned to Tanker 5; the outgoing apparatus was sold the following year, in 1984. That year also saw the establishment of Fremont Volunteer Rescue, a FAST-squad type of outfit that responded to medical calls alongside Raymond and Brentwood ambulances. In 1989, a new Mack/KME tanker was delivered to replace both the 1953 GMC assigned to Tanker 4 and 1947 Ford Engine 1. It was lettered as Tanker 4.
The department continued to save money for a substation throughout the 1990s, while dealing with the space constraints of the current station. An interesting anecdote was shared in the 1993 town report, where it was said that Tanker 5 needed a full tank of water in order to make it out the door; otherwise, it wouldn’t be heavy enough to clear the top of the bay.
The town decided that the need for a new central station was much greater than opening a substation, so in 1996 it bought land on Main Street for a new public safety building that the fire, police, and rescue departments could use. By 1998, the station was ready—a large, four-bay garage with additional bays in the back. The now old fire station was leased by Spaulding & Frost, although the company only stayed in business for one more year. As of 2025, the old fire station is now a private residence.
In 1998, the 1956 GMC 6×6 was replaced with a newer model, this time a 1978 AM General that was once again built out for forestry tanker duty (with a 1500 gallon tank) by the department. It was designated Tanker 1. The following year, the Fremont Firemen’s Association donated a boat and trailer to the department.
In 2001, an American LaFrance pumper, built on a Freightliner chassis, was delivered for Engine 1. This relegated the 1960 GMC of Engine 2 to forestry duty. The new truck had a 1500 GPM pump, 1000 gallon tank, and 20 gallon foam tank. By 2004, the department also had acquired a used Yamaha Grizzly ATV that had originally served the police department. In 2005, a Ford F-350/Morrison was delivered as Utility 1. This was used to tow the ATV, boat, and hazmat trailers.
In 2007, after much deliberation by the town and various stakeholders, Fremont Volunteer Rescue and the fire department merged into one entity. This meant that the fire department now had a 2006 Chevrolet Suburban to utilize for medical responses. It was designated Rescue 1.
In 2012, the department was awarded a grant that helped them purchase a new Kubota UTV for use in off-road emergencies. Two years later, Tanker 1 was updated with a new poly tank. In 2016, a new pumper for Engine 2 was delivered, replacing one of the GMCs. A KME Severe Service model, the new Engine 2 had a 1250 GPM pump and 2800 gallon tank. In 2017, a pole barn was built behind the station to provide a roof over trailers, UTVs, and other equipment used by the police department.
The 2020s saw further modernization of the department, with a new Ford F-550/Warner light rescue being delivered in 2023 for Rescue 1, and a Kenworth/Fouts Brothers tanker with 1000 GPM pump and 3000 gallon tank replacing the Mack of Tanker 4.
