The Hollis Fire Department has existed in some form since the early 1800s, when a Fire King hand engine named “The Defender” was purchased to supplement the town’s bucket brigade. In 1858, the town purchased a horse-drawn engine named “Always Ready,” and a year later, a station was built at 26 Main Street to house the fire company’s resources.
A second company was established in 1860, and a hose carriage was purchased in 1873. An American LaFrance soda-acid chemical unit was purchased in 1911, and the department’s first motorized apparatus joined the fleet in 1927. It was a GMC with 350 GPM pump. A Model A Ford and 1929 Seagrave (assigned to Engine 1) soon followed. As Hollis expanded, so did its fire department, and the need for a new station.
In 1950, the department moved into a new station located at 7 Monument Square, adjacent to the town hall. (The “Always Ready” fire house would later serve as an American Legion post and Hollis Police headquarters. It now stands as a museum.) Apparatus that were stationed in the new station included a 1956 Ford/Moody pumper with 500 GPM pump and 600 gallon tank for Engine 2; a 1962 Ford/Moody with 750 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank for Engine 1, replacing the Seagrave; a 1951 Dodge M37 with 150 GPM pump and 275 gallon tank for Forestry 1; a 1952 Mack M51 with 1000 gallon tank; a 1960s-era AM General for Tanker 1/Forestry 2; a 1964 International Loadstar 1700 tractor with 5000 gallon Fruehauf trailer for Tanker 2; and a 1969 Ford N/Valley tanker with 750 GPM pump and 750 gallon tank for Engine 3.
During the 1970s, the department made some major changes by adding a rescue company and EMS transporting capabilities. A 1964 ex-Navy ambulance would be designated Ambulance 341. An unknown year rescue and command van was placed into service in 1970; according to the town report, it quickly became the busiest truck in the fleet. A 1972 Ford Econoline was later put into service as Rescue 345, and a 1976 Dodge Tradesman/Starline ambulance was outfitted in 1975 and placed into service on April 1st, 1976.
Also in 1976, the department purchased a Mack R with Hamerly bodywork. It had a 1000 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank and would serve as Engine 362, Pump 2, and Tanker 1 over the years. A Chevy Cabover tractor-trailer tanker was utilized during the 1970s; according to Chief Roy Wilkins in the 1977 town report, it was a 4000 gallon tanker that was used only during the summer months.
In 1979, the department added its first aerial device, a used 85’ 1941 American LaFrance Jox mid-mount ladder.
In December 1982, the department moved into its current eight-bay station located at 10 Glenice Drive. A 1983 Kenworth/FMC with 1250 GPM pump and 1250 gallon tank was put into service as Engine 1, replacing the 1963 Ford. In 1984, the rescue company put into service a new 1984 Ford E-350 with Superior bodywork. The following year, a fourth tanker was added to the fleet with a 1985 International/Valley with a 250 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank. This replaced the 1956 Ford/Moody.
In 1984, a used Mack R tractor was purchased to pull the 4000 gallon tanker, as the current tractor, an International, was not powerful enough. In 1986, a new Ford E-350 was purchased to replace Ambulance 1, listed in the town report as a 1978 (meaning the 1976 Dodge Tradesman had already been replaced possibly). Its body was built out by Frontline. And in 1989, a Spartan/FMC pumper with 1500 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank was placed into service as Engine 3, replacing the 1969 Ford. The following year, Valley refurbished the Ford with a 1900 gallon tank and it returned to service as Tanker 3.
At some point during the 1980s, the department also operated one more tractor-drawn tanker: a Mack R. Like the Chevy Cabover, there is little information on this apparatus online. This may possibly be the same 4,000 gallon tanker that the Chevy ran, with the Mack R from 1984 mentioned earlier.
In 1990, the 1943 ALF ladder was replaced with a 1971 American LaFrance 900 mid-mount ladder with 85’ reach. This truck originally served in New Milford, NJ. In 1994 the town purchased a Ford/Medtec ambulance for Ambulance 1, replacing the 1985 Ford.
In 1996 an International/Hackney rescue was purchased, replacing the 1984 Ford. The following year, a 1996 International 4900 pumper with 1750 GPM pump, 350 gallon tank, and large-diameter hose reel, was utilized under the designation Pump 1. This replaced the 1968 Ford for good. In 1998, the 1976 Mack R serving as Tanker 1 was refurbished by Valley with the addition of a 1750 gallon tank. The department’s chief car was also replaced with a 1998 Chevy S10 Blazer.
In January 2001, the 1971 ALF ladder truck was damaged while operating at a call and was placed out of service due to the cost of repairs.
A Ford E-450 with Life Line box was placed into service as Ambulance 1 in 2000, and in 2006, it would transition to the second ambulance on the roster for the town after it purchased a 2006 model with Osage bodywork. A majority of the remainder of the fleet was replaced in the 2000s:
-
- A 2002 Pierce with a 2000 GPM pump, 300 gallon tank, and 100’ tower was put into service as Tower 1; this replaced the damaged 1971 American LaFrance and was largely paid for with insurance money. The ALF was repaired and sold to Hillsboro, NH, which used it until 2017.
- A 2005 Spartan Gladiator/Smeal with 1500 GPM pump and 300 gallon tank replaced the 1983 Kenworth as Engine 1. That truck was sent to Mexico to serve.
- A 2008 Freightliner/Dingee tanker with 1000 GPM pump and 3500 gallon tank was put into service as Tanker 1.
- A 2009 Freightliner/Dingee tanker with 500 GPM pump and 2000 gallon tank was put into service as Tanker 2. With these deliveries, the department scaled back to two in-service tankers.
- A 2009 Ford/Dingee brush truck with 100 GPM pump and 400 gallon tank was put into service as Forestry 1.
The department continued to modernize its fleet in the 2010s, with a 2010 Spartan Metrostar/Dingee pumper with 1500 GPM pump and 1000 gallon tank going into service as Engine 2. A 2010 Ford E-450/Life Line ambulance replaced Ambulance 1, relegating the 2006 ambulance to Ambulance 2. In 2020, a Ford F-550/Osage replaced the 2010 unit, and that truck became Ambulance 2. In 2019, the rescue company placed a Sutphen/Dingee into service. This rescue pumper had a 500 GPM pump, 750 gallon tank, and 30 gallons of foam on board.
In 2020, the department finalized its modernization with the delivery of a new Engine 1, a Sutphen/Dingee engine with 1500 GPM pump, 1000 gallon tank, and 30 gallons of foam. The 2005 Spartan it replaced was then refurbished by Dingee to replace the tank with a 300 gallon one. The truck then became Pumper 1, replacing the 1996 International.
