History

   Huntington's earliest fire brigade was....well....colorful!

    When the call for volunteers went out in 1856, 50 men showed up at Purviance's Hall to enroll in the "Neptune Fire Company." Their first act was to decide upon a uniform-white trousers and red shirts. Commented the newspaper, guardedly: "They look fine on dress parade, but we'll see if they are any account when a fire breaks out."     They soon found out. Upon arrival of the town's first hand-operated engine, the ladies honored the Neptuners with a banquet. The men arrived in full regalia, but just as they were sitting down to eat, the alarm rang, Hubbell's Tannery was afire!     They rushed to the scene and began pumping, but the hose broke and the efforts to bind it with handkerchiefs were futile and the tannery burned to the ground.     Wonder how those spiffy white trousers fared in that ill-fated effort?

Fire Department Formed

   One of Huntington's first acts after becoming a city in 1873 was to organize a fire department. This was good, considering earlier experiences with erratic volunteer fire fighting.   The city fathers installed William McGrew as chief and under his leadership the department grew to include two steam engines and 2500 feet of hose.  Cisterns scattered about the city's three wards supplied water as did Flint Creek.  A brick engine house was erected at the corner of State and Cherry streets (home of current Station 1).  McGrew's task was no easy one. Unable at first to buy horses because of budget limitations McGrew had to depend upon "volunteer" horses, hired under contract with a local teamster.  This, too, proved to be an erratic service because the untrained horses sometimes balked at pulling the steaming engines up Huntington hills.   The problem was eventually resolved by aquiring a trained team of horses for this specialized assignment.

Other Tidbits

1873.... The Neptune Fire Company was absorbed into the Huntington Fire Dept. The department was all volunteer until 1898, when it became partially paid, eventually became all paid.  (we are still researching these facts)