History
In March 2008, the members of the Wilmington Fire Department quietly
celebrated the 150th anniversary of the Department.
The Department was organized in March of 1858 when village
trustees were approved a sum not to exceed $700 to purchase a pump, 200
feet of hose and to begin work on various reservoirs around the Village
to provide water.
The first fire engine was a Hunneman hand pump serial number 605 which
was equipped with a 6” cylinder pump and was known as “Boxer No. 3”.
The apparatus was delivered to
the Village on April 28, 1858 and was the main fire fighting apparatus
for the Department until 1931, when the first motorized engine was
purchased. Today the
Department consists of 3 pumpers, a rescue truck, snowmobile, ATV,
rescue sled and forest fire trailer.
The first “firehouse” was located on South Main Street (near the former
Lamorder building) where the Hunneman was stored.
When the first motorized engine was purchased in 1931, the
firehouse moved to the lower level of the grammar school building.
The building was originally located at the site of the current
Pettee Memorial Library, but was relocated to Beaver Street where it
stood until 1968 when it was razed to make room for the current
firehouse.
The Wilmington Fire Department has a long standing reputation as a very
well trained and organized Department.
The Department has been meeting twice a month for training
sessions since at least the early 1950’s.
Whether it has been the bell ringer alerting an emergency or the
current beep of the pagers, the members of the Department have long been
known as very quick to respond to emergencies and to aggressively attack
fires to save life and property.
The Department has proudly produced at least two “Firefighters of
the Year” that have been honored by the State of Vermont and a much
respected Marching Unit that has won many, many awards over the years.
The Department is also very proud of its Junior Firefighter
Program that was started by Barker Willard in the early 1970’s.
Today, two of our most respected members, Brian Johnson and
Richard Covey are products of that great program.
The Members of the Department have long been fundraising for events like
the senior citizen chicken barbeque, the annual ladies night dinner to
thank our significant others for all of the time we are away and for our
monthly meetings known as “smokers”.
A formal association known as the Wilmington Firefighters
Association was formed in 2001, but there has been an informal
association for years.
The Wilmington Fire Department has a long list of well known members and
Chiefs that have made the Department what it is today.
From people like the first Chief E. Gorham, to past members O. O.
Ware, H. F. Barber, C. H. Parmelee, Harold Lackey, Raymond Lavoy,
Leonard Johnson, Barker Willard, Robert Maynard Sr. to current longtime
members Brian Johnson, Richard Covey, Bill Spirka, and Jake White and
with the support of the Town Residents we have a great Department that
will continue to provide emergency services to the Town of Wilmington
for many, many more years to come.