In 1890 the first Fire Department meeting was held and the Valley Hose Company was incorporated on December 14, 1900. The first fire equipment was a hook and ladder truck and hose cart, both pulled by men. Before this, when a fire alarm was given, the citizens would respond and come running with their buckets to form a bucket brigade; using water from the customary horse tank which was part of most residences. The first motorized equipment purchased in 1923 was an American LaFrance truck and consisted of a combination hose and ladder truck equipped with two chemical tanks for fires beyond the water main.

    A combination Town Hall and Fire Barn was built in 1903 near the theater on Gardiner Street; the fire equipment was kept in the west portion of the building. Alex Gardiner was our first Fire Chief and was succeeded by N.E. Johnson, C.W. McMullen and in 1922 Ray C. Decker took over as Chief and served faithfully in this capacity for 36 years until his death in 1958.

    The original fire alarm was a bell located on the top of the Town Hall. It was replaced in 1926 by the present siren. Fire phones were originally placed in the homes of Dr. Parsons and Fire Chief Ray Decker. In September of 1957 an improved paging system was installed so that a fire phone would ring simultaneously in the homes of five firemen. Today firefighters are alerted of a call with pagers, and smartphone applications.