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Health & Fitness

Early Naugatuck Fire Apparatus

The first town owned piece of fire apparatus was a hand pulled cart named "Vigilant".  This picture of the cart is from around 1890. The man behind the rear wheel is Jerome B. Fuller, the 2nd chief of the NFD. The silver kerosene lanterns in the front are on display at the Maple Street fire station. Looks like the cart is dressed out for a parade.

Fire protection in Naugatuck back then depended on how far you were from a fire hydrant. The cart carried several hundred feet of hose and if your building was past that distance, it burned to the ground. We have fire reports going back to the 1880s and several state "house too far from hydrant". 

The only horse drawn fire equipment in Naugatuck was the ladder wagon. The horses were from Clark's on Cherry Street (a hauling service IIRC) and would respond when the fire whistles went off. The Maple Street fire station had a large door in the rear for the horses to enter. They were then hooked the the wagon and went out the front door.

The first motorized truck was purchased in 1916 as well as the first full time department member hired to drive the truck. The two vehicles in front of the fire station are the first motorized fire engine in Naugatuck and chief's car circa 1920.

Naugatuck also had a fire engine manufacturer, Allerton Iron Works, which made steam powered, horse drawn fire engines.  The town never owned one of those machines.  The one pictured belongs to a town in Ohio.

If you are on Facebook and have an interest in Naugatuck History, please join the nearly 2,000 member "You are probably from Naugatuck if...." group.
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Even better, consider joining the Naugatuck Historical Society www.naugatuckhistory.com

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