If you had been a resident of Barnsboro in 1910, you would have probably seen a public notice calling for a meeting of the legal voters at Tomlin’s Hall on February 11th to organize a fire company. The purpose of this meeting was to determine if there would be any interest in establishing an organization of this nature. As it turned out, thirty-two men attended the meeting and thirty of them indicated a desire to have a fire company. The group selected J. Mason Tomlin as temporary chairman and they decided to hold another meeting on February 14, 1910.

      At this second meeting, the company was officially organized. The committee, an organization chosen at the previous meeting presented their slate of candidates for the various offices. The entire slate was unanimously elected. The officers were: J. Mason Tomlin, President; Edward M Pope, Vice President; Alfred Chew, Secretary; William Duffield, Treasurer; James Lafferty Chief and Harry Berry, Police Captain. Eighteen more men were enrolled that night as well. From the start the men realized the need of having the women to support their company. A motion was made at the February 14th meeting to establish a Ladies Auxiliary. They were fully organized and ready to give their help in a short period of time.

      The men lost no time in discussing the purchase of a fire engine. An Equipment Committee had been appointed and by March 7, 1910, the committee recommended buying a double 35 gallon chemical engine. A motion to purchase was readily made. On March 14th, the committee reported going to Cape May Court House to see the same type of engine. After looking at pictures in the catalogues, the committee was just as impressed with seeing the actual machine in operation.

      By May 3, 1910, the company became incorporated and the official name was, Barnsboro Fire Company No. 1. Prior to this incorporation, specifications and bids were sent out to several manufacturers for a chemical engine. The Combination Ladder Company of Philadelphia submitted the lowest bid of $595.00. The contract stated that the company would pay $300.00 on delivery and the balance would be paid in one year in two equal installments at 6% interest. The engine was on its way by September 26, 1910. Due to delays in shipping, it did not arrive in Barnsboro until November 28, 1910. What a day it must have been for the townspeople.

      The new engine was to be kept in Alfred Chew’s shed. The necessary locks and keys were purchased to secure it there. This Holloway chemical wagon depended on the mixing together of water, baking soda and Sulphuric acid in the tanks to form carbon dioxide gas which was squirted out of the hose to extinguish the fire. The first demonstration of the engine was held on December 10, 1910 along with an Oyster Supper to raise money to pay for the apparatus. It was in the same month that it was decided to move the engine to Tomlin’s shop so that a fire could be kept going to keep the tanks from freezing.

      Long before the engine arrived, the men had made plans for obtaining a fire bell. They decided to purchase a locomotive tire for this purpose. When hung properly, the metal tire rim could be hit with a hammer and the sound could be heard for a good distance. In an agreement with the West Jersey and Seashore Railroad Company, the men were to pay 1 cent per pound for the rim plus freight charges. The cost of the fire bell was $9.37. The company had also purchased three ladders (a 36' extension ladder, a 20' straight ladder and a 12' roof ladder) at a cost of $8.50.

      The women had also been at work. The company had decided that it would be necessary to have a permanent building for the engine. Two weeks prior to the arrival of the engine, the ladies presented the company with a ¼ acre lot on the Sewell Road for construction of a fire house. Upon company approval, a two story building 20’ wide and 30’ long was constructed of concrete block. By May of 1911, the exterior portion of the structure was complete. The interior was completed the following month. The total cost of the firehouse was $1,034.15. The first meeting in this building was in August 1911. Until that time all meetings were held in Tomlin’s Hall.

      A formal set of rules for the use of the firehouse were established. Smoking and spitting on the second floor was strictly prohibited. Smoking was not permitted by the women on the first floor. No intoxicating beverages were permitted in the building under any circumstances. Games of chance involving money were not allowed at any time. No games of any kind were to be played in the firehouse on Sunday. The fee for renting the building was $3.o0 a night.

The first reports of any fires were made at a May meeting in 1911. Two fires occurred in Mantua on May 10th, one at Tylers on the 13th and one at Clark’s weeds on the 14th. Harry Berry’s wagon was damaged as a result of using his wagon to take the fire engine to one of these fires. Mr. Berry was paid for the damages. When a long distance was involved in responding to a fire, it was necessary to tow the engine by horse and wagon. If a fire was close by, the men would pull the two wheel fire apparatus by hand.

      On April 9, 1912, a fire destroyed a bungalow on the south side of Tyler’s Lake. The fire department had been called too late to save the home. The Chief, James Lafferty, related in his report that the fire was prevented from spreading to near by buildings. Shortly after this fire occurred, the boat house owners in the lake area requested that the fire company obtain a bell for them. Another locomotive tire was ordered for this purpose and it was installed at the lake by the company. The bells were not only used as fire alarms, they were also rung for incidents of “outrage and robbery”.