HISTORY BRIEF

“I sometimes think men do not act like reasonable creatures when they build for themselves combustible dwellings, in which they are every day obliged to use fires”

Benjamin Franklin

The fire service in Wyndmoor has evolved from meager and halting beginnings of our community minded ancestors to a well trained group of nearly fifty dedicated men and women. This firefighting force employs the most modern equipment suited for an array of emergencies utilizing cutting-edge strategies to keep our community safe from the ravages of not only fire, but literally any emergency.

The formation of the Wyndmoor Hose Company parallels the growth of the community and the whole suburban Philadelphia area. The seeds of the local fire company grew out of an industrial base at Mermaid Lane and Queen Street. There, the Nelson Valve Company began an in-house fire brigade to meet the needs of the dangerous industrial mechanisms used to make hydraulic valves. Eventually, the local community was solicited for its help in keeping this fire unit viable and expanding its services to the larger community. Residents volunteered, recognizing the communal benefit, and with help from the valve company a two wheeled had cart was purchased and 500 feet of hose. By 1909, the shed used at the valve Company was expanded as were the hose carts to four wheels and two horses. Horse power proved a problem. A monetary reward was granted to the first horse team to arrive at the sound of the alarm and haul the apparatus to the scene. This actually produced a rivalry among horse teams!

As Wyndmoor was distinctly outside the Philadelphia city limits, mutual aid from the City was always tentative Keeping pace with the growth of the towns’ structures and burgeoning population was a challenge. The next big move in fire safety came with the purchase of “touring cars”. You remember them, big fenders and rumble seats. These were fitted with tanks of water and tools and soon Wyndmoor was no longer a two-horse outfit.

At the dawn of the Roaring Twenties the fire company got a new home, on Queen Street closer to Willow Grove Ave. It still stands and served as a firehouse for nearly 50 years. In 1927, Wyndmoor purchased two Hale Pumpers and in 1940 a city service ladder truck. As the nations infant automotive industry diversified and began to specialize, communities began purchasing recognizable fire apparatus. A huge property along Willow Grove Ave. was purchased by the fire company and large fairs were held for a dozen years. The proceeds from these carnivals offset astronomical costs and allowed the continued modernization of the fire service in Wyndmoor.

 

CLICK HERE For information about another large fair reminiscent of the 1940s fairs.

ORDER YOUR CENTENNIAL PUBLICATION to see how we narrate and pictorially display the evolution of your fire company to the present days state of the art equipment and schooled firefighters.