|
|
|
 |
Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue has been in operation since shortly after the end of World War II. Needless to say, the organization has seen a number of changes since then. Prior to that time, few small towns in Maine operated volunteer fire departments. In essence, the community was the fire department. People kept tubs of water on their porches with rags soaking in the water. When a fire broke out, the people would use bags of wet rags to extinguish it. The summer of 1947 changed all that. It was a particularly dry year, but most in Maine were not concerned. The rain would come eventually. Then, in mid-October, a fire broke out on Mount Desert Island. Fanned by high winds and feeding on the dry grass and trees, the fire raged out of control. When it was done, some 17,188 acres had burned. Like many towns in Maine, Harpswell decided it was time for a fire department. |
|
The beginnings of the fire department were humble indeed. There were no fire trucks to start with, just a couple of trailers with an Indian tank and pump and some 1 1/8 inch hose coiled on board. When a fire call came through, one of the volunteers would hitch the trailer to his truck and off they would go. It was not long after that the the Harpswell Neck Fire Department obtained its first truck, a second hand Ford for which Bob Morse made a tank and Bill Sparks installed pumps. Irving Chipman, Ed LeMay, Danny McManus, Spencer Allen and Willis Allan were all instrumental in the early days of organizing the Department. By 1950 it was clear that the Department would need a full-fledged firehouse. Irving Chipman measured the single truck to figure out how big the firehouse should be - twenty-four by thirty- six feet - which left enough room to park the truck and walk around it. With some donated funds and some borrowed money, construction began, relying primarily on volunteer labor. By the end of the summer, the firehouse was complete. |
 |
 |
The rescue side of Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue had similar humble beginnings. When the rescue department first got going, in the mid-1950's, there was no ambulance. Instead, when a patient needed transport, the undertaker in Brunswick was called (probably not very comforting to the patient!) and they were taken to the hospital in what was known as the "invalid car". Eventually the undertaker no longer wanted to provide that service, and a number of Harpswellians, including Chick Mercier, Shirley Thompson and Lilian McManus organized and official Rescue Department. An old ambulance was purchased from the Brunswick Naval Air Station and housed in a barn until an extension could be built onto the fire house. The Rescue Department at first consisted only of ambulance drivers. Later, as members took Red Cross First Aid training, medical service was expanded. Now the Harpswell Neck Rescue operates a full ambulance service staffed by drivers and Emergency Medical Technicians |
|
The Fire Department, too, has greatly expanded since the first trailers stored in someone's garage. Now, after more than half a century of operation, Harpswell Neck Fire boasts the most complete inventory of any of the Harpswell Fire Departments, with two fire engines, two tankers and a brush truck. Harpswell Neck Fire and Rescue is constantly upgrading and obtaining new equipment, and maintaining an on-going schedule of training in all aspects of fire and rescue. Since its inception, the men and women of HNFR have been proud of their dedication to the preservation of lives and property on Harpswell Neck. |
