Department History
AS NEWSPAPER REPORTS INDICATE, protection from fire was one of the most critical needs of the village, and one which was not met by town government. A fire Association was organized in November 1803, with General Solomon Cowles as chairman. The village was divided into two wards, and a committee was named to secure an engine, fire hooks, and a building in which to keep the equipment. Afire engine was ordered from New York City in 1808. But the association lacked the necessary legal authority to enforce regulations, collect taxes, impose fines, and go to court. A charter was needed to provide those powers. The legislature passed the resolve incorporating the Farmington Fire Society in the fall of 1808. The new society embraced all inhabitants living within the town plot, extending south to the house of Ezekeil Cowles and north to the houses of John Treadwell and Isaac Black. Bylaws adopted by the Fire Society in 1846 forbade the use of portable stoves and required householders to clean their chimneys every four months, to keep leather buckets n hand, and to store their matches in iron boxes. The fire company was organized like a unit of militia, and service in the company exempted one from military obligations. The Hartford courant noted that the reaction of Farmington villagers to the new west end power was to shoot themselves in the foot by creating a Borough of Farmington – further isolating themselves from the new power of Unionville. Its warden, Amasa A. Redfield, and the board of Burgesses, which included D.N. Barney, WilliamD. Hurlburt, T.H. Root, Edward Hutchison, D.R. Hawley and Edward H. Deming, submitted their first annual report on May 4, 1902, ten days before the new Unionville Town Hall was ceremoniously inaugurated. Hartford media criticized the old guard for now having duplicated public services by separate governances in the two ends of town. There were now twin organizations, some of which did not speak to one another, 2 police forces, 2 courts, 2 fire department trucks, 2 water companies, 2 committee for streets, sewer, and sanitation. In 1902, Chief Charles W. Ruic now headed the Farmington Fire Department with Hervey L. Crandall, Assistant Chief. They supervised 3 companies of ten volunteers each. It was ironic that the new Borough in 1902 had to send a check for 1,402.00 to Unionville's Union Electric Light and Power to electrify Farmington's Main Street.
On July 2, 1929, the Selectman of the Borough of Farmington appointed a committee to explore for sites for a firehouse. On April 28, 1930, the site of the present firehouse was chosen. At the Annual Borough Meeting held May 12, 1930, the Borough voted to authorize borrowing not to exceed $40,000.00 for the acquisition of the site and for the construction of the firehouse. In July of the same, W.J. Marchant was selected as architect and a Building Committee was appointed. The members of the committee were: Frank A. Cadwell, Sr. Chairman, Austin D. Barney, Secretary, Adrian Wadsworth and Lewis Root. On July 28, 1930, the Committee reported to the Selectman that the site had been acquired for $10,732.91 and a low bid of $22,684 had been received from the Allyn Wadhams Company. The Selectman approved these actions and accepted a donation of $500 from Mr. Keep to be used for the construction of the building. The bowling alleys in the present facility were donated by Mr. Barney. In February, 1931 the building was completed and dedicated. The Committee's report was accepted by the Borough Selectman on March 3, 1931.
Fifty years later, on April 7, 1980, the voters of the Town of Farmington, at a very Special Town Meeting, voted to authorize the expenditure of $275,000 for the renovation to the 1931 structure. The design for the work was done by Mathew Paskov and the contractor selected by the Town was Fred Brunoli and Sons of Avon, Connecticut. Work began in May of 1980 and was completed in early December of the same year. Open house and dedication was held on January 18, 1981.
Today, the Farmington Volunteer Fire Department continues to serve the needs of the community by expanding our scope to include both medical and rescue responses. As is common in many fire departments, the tradition of service lives on throughout the family with numerous examples of two and three generations actively participating in our daily operations.