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A group of local citizens recognizing the need for organized fire protection, met on Tuesday evening July 10, 1888, and formed The Volunteer Fire Company of Ellicott City No. 1, 'a bucket brigade', the first within Howard County. Prior to this, coordinated firefighting activities in the town were virtually non-existent. In efforts to guard against the outbreak of fires, the City Council adopted a law on June 17, 1867 to regulate the cleaning and sweeping of chimneys. As fires were frequently caused by fouled chimneys, the Council later passed an ordinance prohibiting attempts to clean chimneys by burning them out.
At a regular meeting on August 24, 1888, authorization was granted to purchase a hand-drawn ladder wagon from the Charles T. Holloway Company, Baltimore, Maryland. Funds to cover the cost were received from public subscriptions. The Board of County Commissioners at their Tuesday, September 4, 1888 meeting, ordered that a donation of $100 be made to the local fire company.
The ladder wagon was received on October 5, 1888 and was first housed in what was known as the Old Foundry on the Baltimore County side of Ellicott City. Now the members were provided with buckets, fire extinguishers, hooks and ladders. In later years, the wagon was equipped with a tongue so that it could be drawn by a team of horses borrowed from the J. H. Gaither Livery Stable (located on the property where to U. S. Post Office, 8267 Main Street now stands).
The first organized training for the local volunteers was held on November 20, 1888. The instructor was Willaim Rolf of the Baltimore
City Fire Department.
 On the corner of Frederick Turnpike (Main Street) and Ellicott Street (Church Road), a triangle shaped lot on which to build a fire house was donated to the fire company by Christian Eckert. Unable to raise the $800 needed to build a two-story structure, a one-story fire house costing $500 was authorized by the membership at their seventeenth meeting on Tuesday, March 12, 1889. Later in the year, the building was occupied without the fire company having received a clear title for the lot from Christian Eckert."
Excerpts taken from:
"Ellicott City Volunteer Firemen's Association, Inc.: 100th Anniversary, 1888-1988." June 1988.
The Ellicott City Volunteer Fire Department (ECVFD) is a member of the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services (HCDFRS). We are a combination department, working side by side with the career personnel of the HCDFRS. A combination system offers many opportunities such as training and other resources that may not be available to a single system. It also allows for a diverse group of personnel with whom we can all learn, become friends, and better serve the community. |
