History

Prior to 1936, the Westerly Fire Department provided fire protection to the Village of Ashaway, as there was no fire department in the town. While they did their best, most times the building was beyond saving by the time the apparatus arrived from Westerly.

A fire that occurred on Hillside Avenue in October of 1935 destroyed 2 homes, 2 garages, and forced 3 children to jump to safety from the 2nd floor was the proverbial “straw that broke the camel’s back”. Records indicate that while the Westerly boys, with assistance from the Pawcatuck Fire Department did an admirable job, residents decided that the time had come for Ashaway to have its own fire company.

The 1st organizational meeting of the fledging department was held at the Ashaway Grange on November 12, 1935. A committee composed of Clifford Perrin, Edward Cundall, Charles Travis, Joseph Murray, Howard Palmer, and Byron Champlin was charged with the task of forming organized fire protection in the Village of Ashaway. The committee was expanded to include: Ira Murphy, Paul Dinwoodie, and Grant Perrin. On January 6, 1936, the Ashaway Volunteer Fire Association was chartered by the State of RI and was officially “open for business”.

Now that we had a fire department, we needed a fire truck. The 1st fire truck was a 1929 Ford Model A Roadster, donated by Chief Byron Champlin, and converted to a fire truck by the members. We still have this truck today. Many different types of fundraisers were held to raise money for a real fire truck and to build a station. Fundraisers included: whist’s, suppers, and Minstrel Shows. In a very short period of time the Ashaway Fire Department Minstrels were a most sought after form of entertainment in the area.

Then, in 1940 our 1st new fire truck was ordered, a 1941 Ford/Buffalo pumper. Also around the same time this station was built, through the hard work of the members.

For the next 20 years or so members continued their hard work and dedication to the community.

By the early 1960’s it became apparent that more room was needed in the station, and a 1 story addition was added. This addition was built completely by the members. This allowed for the acquisition of our 2nd new fire truck, a 1963 IH/Maxim pumper. In 1967 another new truck was purchased, an IH/John Bean High Pressure For Pumper. There were also several homebuilt trucks added during this time period.

In the 1970’s, Bingo became our major source of income. Due to the popularity of the Bingo’s, a second floor meeting room was added to the station. In 1976, a new Maxim custom pumper was purchased.

The 1980’s saw members again “step up to the plate” and build a new 4 bay addition. Like the initial fundraising effort, “buy a block” buttons were sold. In 1984 a new IH/Amthor pumper was purchased. In 1986 we celebrated our 50th anniversary with a parade and muster. Also during this time, new training requirements were being imposed on the firefighters requiring a considerable amount of time. The number of fires and other calls for assistance increased dramatically from around 20 or so in 1940 to over 300 a year.

In 1991 we purchased two new pieces of apparatus, a White/KME tanker and a KME custom pumper. Both are still in service. In 1993 we purchased a used rescue truck and in 1999 we purchased a Chevrolet Brush truck. Both of these apparatus were purchased with grant money.

In 2000, we purchased a new Ferrara Custom Pumper and re-chassised our rescue truck.

More to follow.