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The
Marlboro Fire Department is actually the successor of the
Marlborough Fire Association. The Town of Upper Marlboro,
formerly spelled Upper Marlborough, was first surveyed in
1706. Fifteen years later it became the County Seat of Prince
George's County, and in 1888 became an incorporated town.
The first home in Upper Marlboro was built on Water Street.
All of the early homes and businesses were along what is now
Water Street, Rolling Road (now Elm Street), Church Street,
and Main Street. The Western Branch at the foot of Water Street
was at one time a small port. Here barges and small boats
docked to collect hogsheads of tobacco for shipment abroad
and to deliver merchandise and produce to the merchants.
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Around
1879 or 1880 there was an emergency fire alarm system.
Whenever a fire started, Uncle Ned Deville, who had a very
strong voice, would run up and down the streets yelling “Fire,
Fire!†Then the residents of the town would
rush out with buckets of water and available ladders to combat
the fire. Later, the ringing of the Court House bell at an
unusual hour became the fire signal.
About 1886, a large portion of the town at the intersection
of Water and Church Street was destroyed by two separate fires.
After this fire, the residents of the town organized the Marlborough
Fire Association. The Association was incorporated by the
Circuit Court of Prince George's County on March 8, 1887.
The Association held regular meetings and sought donations
toward the construction of a fire house and the purchase of
equipment. Shortly thereafter, a contract was awarded to John
C. Wyvill, a local contractor, to construct a two-story wood
frame fire house at the cost of $342.25 on property donated
by Mrs. James Belt.
Soon after, the Marlborough Fire Association purchased a hook
and ladder wagon. It was usually hand-drawn, but could be
pulled by horses when available. This piece of equipment carried
twelve leather buckets, an assortment of red ladders, and
a large clap-sounding brass bell which was rung by pulling
a long cord attached to the top of the bell. Quite frequently
when a fire occurred, some of the ladders were missing, having
been borrowed by the citizens to paint their houses.
Memories are vague and records are missing as to how long
this association remained active. In the early 1920's there
had been some talk about organizing a fire department. Not
having had any large fires in several years, the interest
and incentive were lacking.
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On
March 15, 1924, a cold windy day, a fire started on the roof
near the chimney of Bennett's Lunchroom and hotel shortly
after noon. The Court House bell was rung and telephones frantically
notified the town residents. Due to the high wind, efforts
to extinguish the fire were futile. By the time the fire was
brought under control, it had completely destroyed the lunchroom,
the buggy and carriage shop operated by Mr. John H. Trayband,
and the large two-story residence of Mr. William T. C. Davis.
The residence of Mr. R. Ernest Smith and the law office of
Mr. Joseph K. Roberts were also lost. Valiant efforts of the
bucket brigade saved the residence of Dr. Maguire and a building
on the north side of Main Street.
Urgent calls for help were made to the District of Columbia.
Engine Company 19 responded but the pumper was unable to draft
water from the Western Branch. Mr. Jacob L. Fisher, who operated
a store and lived on the north side of Main Street, directly
opposite the burning building, called the Eastport Fire Department.
They responded and extinguished the smoldering embers after
several hours.
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While
the towns people had suffered a heavy loss, this fire provided
the incentive for the organization of the present fire department.
Almost immediately, practically every able-bodied male attended
meetings to organize a Volunteer Fire Department. Various
committees were appointed, and after many meetings the Marlboro
Volunteer Fire Department was organized in early 1925. The
original fire house of the Marlborough Fire Association was
used as the new department's first station. With a very meager
sum in its treasury, the company voted to purchase a new chemical
truck from the Buffalo Fire Apparatus Company through Mr.
Leon Conneford. This piece of equipment consisted of two 35-gallon
soda-acid chemical tanks, roof ladder, extension ladder, and
three or four brass Deitz Oil Lanterns mounted on a Chevrolet
chassis. This equipment was very effective on small fires,
but it was of little value on building fires unless the department
arrived on the scene before the fire had gotten a good start.
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After
about three years of service, breakdowns and repair jobs were
frequent. Quite often the department was unable to respond
to calls. In April 1930, the department purchased a Seagrave
500 G.P.M. pumper with a 100-gallon booster tank at a cost
of $5960.00. The manufactures had just started installing
booster tanks in place of the soda-acid chemical tanks. The
new Seagrave was delivered August 1, 1930 and formally accepted
after having passed all tests on August 8, 1930. After the
initial payment of $1250.00 and with less than $500.00 in
the bank, the company took off to participate in the County
Convention Parade in Laurel.
On October 25, 1930, while responding to a call for help from
the Capitol Heights Fire Department, the company met with
disaster on the Forestville Ritchie Road. While traveling,
a motorist apparently heard the fire truck siren and pulled
to the right of the road just as the fire truck was about
to pass, the car pulled back to the center of the road in
front of the truck. The driver, to avoid hitting the motorist,
pulled to the left and hit a deep, sandy shoulder causing
the driver to lose control. The truck overturned, pinning
Captain B. Wesley Cranford and Assistant Chief Wesley R. Kerr
under the front running board. Captain Cranford was killed
instantly and became the first county volunteer to die in
the line of duty. Assistant Chief Kerr suffered several fractured
ribs, a broken arm, and a knee injury which hospitalized him
for more than a month. Fortunately, Chief McCormick, James
Ridgely, Charles Kerr, and C. Earle Wyvill received only minor
injuries. This accident did not dampen the enthusiasm of the
members, but instilled in them a firm determination to develop
a strong, active, and efficient fire department.
The Seagrave rendered excellent service and was retained
as an active piece of equipment for nearly twenty years.
During these years, the firemen realized that the 100-gallon
booster tank was inadequate in fighting building fires when
no other water was available. Financially unable to purchase
a new truck, the members purchased a 1936 school bus chassis
on which was mounted a 500 gallon water tank, actually an
old gasoline truck donated by Mr. Frank Tippett of Cheltenham.
A used 500 G.P.M. pump, operated by power takeÂoff,
was mounted in front of the water tank. The pump had once
been owned by the Berwyn Heights Fire Department. This home-made
piece of equipment proved very effective and enabled the
company to save many buildings.
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In
1940 a 750 G.P.M/ pumper was purchased from the Ocean City
Fire Department. This truck was used exclusively on town fires.
It was later sold to a department in New Jersey. A new Oren-Brockway
500 G.P.M. pumper with a 500 gallon booster tank was purchased
in 1945.
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next piece was a 1951 Ford 500 G.P.M. pumper with a 300-gallon
booster tank. While this truck was in excellent condition,
it was sold to the Avalon Shores Volunteer Fire Department
because the 300 gallon tank was inadequate for rural building
fires. The
Oren-Brockway was sold in 1957 to a newly organized fire
department in Dunn, North Carolina
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| In
the early part of 1968, the department became interested
in the possibility of operating a truck company. After
obtaining prices on a completely new unit, they realized
the budget would be unable to afford such a sizable piece
of apparatus. After several months of looking for a used
piece, a 1939 American LaFrance 100-foot aerial ladder
truck was found at the Water Witch Company in Annapolis.
The truck was purchased in May 1968, and after equipping
the truck and members completing the Prince George’s
County course on Ladder Truck Operations, it was placed
in service on July 22, 1968. After one week of waiting,
the truck ran its first call on July 30, 1968. In November,
1968, a Ford tractor was purchased to replace the 1939
American LaFrance tractor. The truck was placed back in
service in April 1969. Many
new ideas and happenings occurred in Marlboro in 1968. Besides
the originating of a truck company, the idea of opening
a second station was also brought up. After many hours of
research and ravel, a 1.5 acre lot was purchased on Croom
Road just off Route 301. In November 1969, ground was broken
for the new station to be constructed by W. T. Hinton, Inc.
This station was assigned the running number of Company
45, and went in service on July 5, 1970 with two pumpers
and an ambulance.
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| With
the purchase of Truck 20, space at the station on Pratt Street
became limited. After seven years of crowded conditions it
was decided to build an addition. After several months of
planning and meetings, ground was broken on July 28, 1975.
This addition provided a larger bunkroom, additional recreation
area, storage area, and a maintenance room in the rear. Money
was always needed to pay bills and maintain equipment. Ways
of raising funds were discussed for several weeks and it
was finally decided to try bingo games. The first one was
held on April 10, 1975 and a profit of $12.25 was made.
In
1976 the department deleted the word “male” from
the applications and began to accept female applicants. The
first squad was approved in April 1977 by the Board of Directors.
A used Chevrolet squad truck was purchased from the Greencastle
Volunteer Fire Department in PA., in May 1977. The truck
was placed into service the same month. Late, in 1978, the
company purchased a larger 1968 Ford squad truck from a
company in Edgely, PA., and sold the old squad to the county.
On
June 15, 1978, the department again suffered a tragic
accident. While responding to an emergency call, Engine
452, running from Company 20 as Engine 201, collided
with a large truck at the intersection of Route 301 and
Croom Station Road. James M. O’Connor was killed
instantly in the crash. Vice-President Cecil W. Thorne
was injured as were volunteer firefighter Howard Buck
and firefighter Steven Stough. Prince
George’s County purchased a 1979 Seagrave 100-food
aerial ladder truck and assigned it to Company 20, replacing
the old American LaFrance.
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In
1988 the truck was reassigned to Marlboro Station 2, Company
45. This unit was moved to make room for a new medic unit
and other additions to Station 20. In 1990, a new Seagrave
100’ ladder truck was purchased for Company 45.
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| In
1990, we lost C. Earle Wyvill, Jr. and John Anderson after
long illnesses. Engine 202 was replaced with a new Seagrave
Pumper. In
January of 1991, Medic 10 was placed in service, operating
from Station 20. A new five thousand square foot addition
to Company 20 was also opened and dedicated to Donald & Roberta
Strine. Also, in 1991, after a very long illness, we
lost Lifetime member Earl S. Walker. In May
of 1992, renovation of Company 45 was started, along with
a new twenty-five hundred square foot addition. This project
was completed in 1993. The Department also purchased a new
custom-made Seagrave in 1993. 1994
found the Department regrouping to find new ways to raise
funds, due to the decision from the State of Maryland to
stop charitable gaming activities. In
1995, the Marlboro Volunteer Fire Department hosted the
Prince George’s County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association’s
Annual Convention. During this event, we hosted the first
Fire & Rescue Exposition, held at the Show Place
Arena. 1997
saw the Department provide to all active members, a life
insurance policy. During
1998 and 1999, God called four members of our Department
to be with Him. To the families of our deceased members,
we express our deepest sympathy. Robert
Cummings
C.E. Rector (Past Chief)
Daniel Theurer
Father John D. Vail (Past Chaplain)
As we continue to provide service and remember our deceased
members, we paused in July of 1999, for a dedication of
two trees, in memory of Cecil Thorne and Daniel Theurer
and a re-dedication of a new plaque on Engine 202 to honor
Jack Sawyer.
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| The
year 2000 also saw both departments hold the 1st Annual FIRE/EMS
Rescue Day, adjacent to Station 20. Because of such a great
success, it was decided to continue with this event every
year. The
department maintains a very efficient fleet of Engines,
Squad, Truck, and Ambulances. In due tine, wear and age
take a toll. Therefore, Pratt Street Station purchased a
1996 Pierce Arrow 1500 G.P.M. Engine in 2000. This unit
is something to see with state-of-the-art handling and pumping
capacity. 2000-2001
saw the members of the Marlboro Volunteer Fire Department
take a stand in fundraising efforts. Bingo is currently
being held every Friday night with much success. In September
of 2001, Marlboro Volunteer Fire Department once again
hosted the Annual Convention of the Prince George’s
County Volunteer Fire and Rescue Association. The events
of September 11, 2001 occurred during our Convention
and brought together a brotherhood unlike any other. This
Department is most proud of all its members. It is the behind-the
scenes individuals who sacrifice their time and talents
to keep both stations and equipment in operating conditions,
the individuals who man the apparatus all hours of the day
and night, and those who continue to train that provide
the best service to our citizens of Upper Marlboro. We look
forward with great anticipation towards whatever lies ahead
in the years to come.
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