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In 1888, Westborough acquired its own fire station, at the corners of Milk and Grove streets, built at a cost of $13,000. It housed and combined the personnel, equipment and apparatus of the four existing volunteer companies, the Rescue Hook and Ladder Company, the Jackson Steamer Company, the William Curtis Hose Company and the Chauncy Hose Company. Personnel included eighty-three volunteer firemen and five appointed fire chiefs.. Equipment at the time consisted of a horse-drawn Jackson Streamer, a hook-and-ladder, one-hose reel, and two hand-hose carriages with 5,000 feet of linen hose.
In 1914, Westborough, replacing its horse-drawn engines, bought a new gas engine truck. This engine combined soda and acid to create the pressure needed for the water to be sprayed. The first gas engine truck that provided the means to pump water (at 500 gallons per minute) was bought in 1918 for $8,240 and was called the “Chauncy”. In 1923, a new pumper was purchased and added to the Fire Department equipment roster. In addition to a new fire alarm system, from atop the Fire Station a fire whistle was put in place in 1934 the same year Westborough joined a 20-town mutual aid pact. In 1937, a Maxim Quad ladder truck was acquired which combined both the pump and ladder on one truck.
The first full-time firefighter was hired in 1918. Edward Hogan was on call seven days a week, around the clock, with two days off each month and was paid a salary of $1,000. It was not until 1943 that a second full-time firefighter was added, and a third was brought on full time in 1953. Come 1972, an additional three firefighters were added permanently, and three more were hired in 1976.
In the 1960's a high-pressure water system was implemented, with the installation of the water tank on Newton s Hill just off Route 9 delivering 125 pounds of pressure. An aerial ladder truck came to Westborough in 1969, and the Fire Department accepted delivery of a 750-gallon-per-minute pumper around the same time.
The additional responsibility of Westborough s ambulance service prompted the building of ambulance bays into the Fire Station in 1975, and a rescue truck was delivered shortly after in 1977. The rescue truck was, and continues to be, an indispensable tool to the department as well as the community. It comes equipped with a plethora of power tools, one of the most important being the “Jaws of Life” that enable personnel to tear through, or open, immovable machinery such as car doors.
Fire Service History Links
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