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At a meeting of the Borough Council held on June 19, 1843, a
petition signed by a majority of the citizens was presented, asking that
a fire engine and other necessary equipment, for fire protection, be purchased.
At a meeting of Council on December 1, 1843, an ordinance was
passed defining the duties of fire wardens and appointing J.W. Smith and
George B. Dale to those positions. They were instructed to prepare two
ladders and four hooks and keep them in a safe place at or near the
center of town. This was the only system of fore protection the Borough
had for nearly forty years.
With no public water systems in the Borough and nearly every
building of frame construction, it was clearly seen that better means of
protecting the town from fires must be established. After the disastrous
Shaw House fire on July 24, 1881, a meeting was called which resulted
in Council purchasing the first piece of fire apparatus ever owned by
Clearfield Borough. It was merely a hook and ladder truck which on
account of its size and weight was christened "Old Jumbo".
On August 28, 1881, at a public meeting of the citizens in the
Court Room, the Clearfield Hook and Ladder Company was formed, with
A.W. Walters, Foreman and A.J. Hagerty, Secretary. This was the actual
beginning of the present Clearfield Fire Department. In 1883 when the
Clearfield Water Company began operating its public water system, the
old bucket brigade and ladder outfits where discontinued and replaced by
fire hose. The Hook and Ladder Company continued in existence under
that name until July 31, 1894, when it was disbanded and the Clearfield
Fire Company No. 1 was organized in its place.
The Clearfield Fire Department is the organization of all the fire
Companies within the Borough limits. The officers are elected annually
from among the membership of all the companies comprising the Department.
The Department is at present composed of 4 Companies
each have their own officers and organization
and bear much the same relation to each other and to the Department
as the different States do to each other and to the United States.
The Department is at present composed of four Companies:
Clearfield Fire Company No. 1, Second ward Hose Company,
Third ward Hose Company, and Elk Hose Company.
All fire apparatus is purchased by the Borough Council, and each
Company has full charge of the equipment assigned to it. The apparatus
fully motorized and thoroughly modern. Company No. 1, being located
the central station, has charged of the hook and ladder truck, pumper
hose wagon. A LaFrance horse -drawn steam engine purchased
by tne Brough in 1900 is still in service and maintained for use in emergency.
The other companies are equipped with hose and chemical trucks.
History and Information gathered and compiled by James W. Pyle, Sr.
February 14, 1970
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