Andover Volunteer Fire Department
Andover, Connecticut
A History of the Andover Volunteer Fire Department 1938 - 2013
by Scott Yeomans
Prior to the establishment of an organized and outfitted fire department, if you experienced a fire for wish you needed assistance, you would call the telephone operator, who would then send the fire signal of ten rings on all the party lines in town. Those that answered were told of the fire. They would then go provide what help they could. At best this help consisted of forming a bucket brigade, at worst everyone would console the owner while the property burned down. As other towns established fire departments, they could be called upon for assistance, but they normally could not respond quick enough to forestall considerable damage.
Early in the fall of 1937 several residents of Andover were awakened by the signal of ten rings on their telephone. Answering the alarm, they were informed that a house owned by Ames was on fire and that aid was needed. Upon arrival at the house, a comparatively small fire was observed in the basement. However, there was no water available and no firefighting equipment in town. As a result, the house was completely destroyed. The Coventry Fire Department arrived after some time, and they were able to save the adjoining garage. It was apparent to the early arrivals at the scene that the fire could have been easily extinguished with only minimal damage if the proper firefighting equipment had been available quickly.
As a result of this loss, the Annual Town Meeting held n October 7, 1937 appointed a committee, composed of Bertram C. Wright, Charles W. Phelps and John H. Yeomans, to study the need for fire protections and to make a report to a subsequent meeting. Prior to making their report to the Town, the committee called a meeting of townspeople to discuss the possible formation of the Andover Volunteer Fire Fighting Organization. At this meeting, held on February 25, 1938, it was decided to organize and the following officers were elected: Bertram C. Wright, President; L. B. Whitcomb, Vice President; Ellsworth Covell, Secretary; Arnold Hyatt, Treasurer; George A. Merritt, Chief; George S. Nelson, Deputy Chief.
George A. Merritt
Chief 1938 - 1946
On March 11, 1938 the newly formed fire fighting organization met again and the group voted to adopt the name "ANDOVER VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT". Also at this meeting the Association's first Bylaws were adopted. The regular meeting night was set for the second Friday of each month and a Board of Directors was established. The Board consisted of the President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Chief. Dues were set at $2.00 per year.
The Department being duly established and incorporated, the attention of the membership turned more intently toward securing equipment and a place to store it. It was decided that the members favored Sackett's as the best place, of those considered, for a fire house. The Sackett place had an asking price of $1200, but it was felt that it could be purchased for $1000. The membership also voted to ask the town to pay the entire cost of procuring an engine and housing for it.
Upon recommendation of the study committee, that had been appointed by the Town, the May 1938 Town Meeting approved an appropriation of $5000 for a fire truck and $2000 to provide housing for it. The Sackett property was purchased for $1000 and remodeling plans began to take shape.
After some consideration, a contract was signed with the Maxim Company to provide Andover with a fire engine. The engine had room for 1200 feet of 2 ½ inch hose and 300 feet of 1 ½ inch hose. It was built on a 1 ½ ton Ford chassis and cost $4,766. The truck had a 500 gpm centrifugal pump and a 150 gallon booster tank.
While awaiting the delivery of the truck and the remodeling of the Sackett Store Building into a firehouse, the members turned their concerns to water supplies. They established a water hole committee. They mapped existing water sources, gathered plans for cisterns and spent many nights trying to improve availability of water to many areas of the town. This was an important task considering that the engine would only carry 150 gallons of water, with no second truck to supplement it.
In the summer of 1938 it was decided to establish formal ties with the other fire departments by joining the Windham and Tolland Counties Fireman's Association.
In late 1938, a 3 hp Sterling Fire Alarm Co. siren was purchased and installed on John Yeomans' garage. Once the fire house renovations were completed, the siren was moved to its roof. Once moved to the fire house, it could be started from any one of five station; J. D. Avery's store, the Samuel's home, the Raymond home, the E.M. Yeomans home or the box in front of the station Eventually, two additional sirens were added to call firemen from all over town, one was at Route 6 near Aspinal Dr. and the other was at the corner of Lake Road and Matheson Dr.
In January 1939 the fire signal rang and soon the recently delivered Maxim fire engine was responding to its first fire. Apparently, a garage standing across from the intersection of Route #6 and Bunker Hill Road had been set afire by a truck backfire. The fire was knocked down and close to out when the booster tank ran dry. The men tried to get water from a nearby well, but it was too deep. Chief Merritt ordered the truck to lay 2 ½ inch hose to the Hop River at Bunker Hill Road. Once the engine began pumping from the river the fire was quickly extinguished. The oil truck and the garage were both lost.
Maxim - in service 1/1939 - 12/1957
E. K. Seyd and George Nelson
Howard Stanley, ?, Andrew Gasper, Andrew Kukucka, John Gasper
Early Chimney Fire
