History of the

New Market District Vol. Fire and Rescue Co.

The New Market District Volunteer Fire Company, Inc. has been in service to the citizens of New Market and the surrounding areas of Frederick County for sixty-two years. The NMDVFC protects roughly 20,000 citizens in a heavily residential first due area, along with a major interstate highway (I-70), many major state routes, and a portion of the CSX “Old Main Line.” The department has a long history of fire service excellence, and though the department has gone through rough times, it is once again a shining example of volunteerism in today’s declining volunteer fire service.

In 1918, after a large fire devastated the small town of New Market, a committee was formed by the town officials to investigate the need for fire protection within the town. After the committee decided that fire protection was indeed needed, the town purchased two hand-drawn chemical wagons and organized a volunteer fire company. These chemical wagons are credited with saving several structures in New Market from fire, one being Grace Episcopal Church. By the late 1920’s, this fire company disorganized and the chemical wagons were put into storage. When the present company organized in 1955, the wagons were pulled out of storage for the celebration. Both wagons were in disrepair, one being scraped and parts used to repair the other. Today, the surviving chemical wagon is owned by the New Market Vol. Fire and Rescue Company and is the only known artifact from the original fire company.

In 1954 at a New Market Lions Club meeting the question arose, once again about the town of New Market and its surrounding area needing fire protection. A public meeting was held the citizens of the area agreed that fire protection was needed. At the Lions Club meeting in December 1954, the New Market District Fire Company was formed, being the fifteenth company in Frederick County, Md. to organize. There were approximately sixty three Charter Members. The first fire company meeting was held on January 15, 1955 at the old New Market Grange Hall, located on what is now Eighth Alley across from Vintage’s parking lot. The company members elected Clyde Smith as President and James R. Hahn as Fire Chief. The members set out to raise money as soon as they could, holding dinners, raffles, and collecting donations. They raised approximately $12,500.00 for the purchase of a new fire engine. Some of the men completed a basic fire training course. The fire engine, a 1955 Ford 500 gallon pumper, was ordered from the American Fire Apparatus Company in Battle Creek, Michigan and arrived in New Market in May 1955. On June 11, 1955, the new engine was placed into service after a ceremony and dinner at the New Market School. Governor McKeldin was in attendance for the dedication. The engine was called “Engine # 1” and later renamed “Engine 151” when Central Alarm was established. The first firehouse was located in a garage behind what is now Mallards Restaurant.

In 1956, the company purchased the Baker property on which to hold an annual carnival and to build a new fire station. Construction of the new station, which featured two engine bays, a dining hall, kitchen, office, and meeting room, began in 1959 with the firemen doing most of the labor. Buildings for the carnival grounds were also built at this time. The new fire hall was completed and dedicated in March 1960. Governor Tawes was in attendance for the dedication. Additions would be added to the fire hall in 1966 and again in1971.

The Ladies Auxiliary of the fire company was formed in January 1955 with approximately twenty five Charter Members. The ladies elected Ruby Hahn as their President. The purpose of this organization was “to provide support to the firemen, to help with special functions and to organize fundraising activities. It was also a social club for the ladies.

Several new engines were added between the years of 1964 to 1975, including a tanker which was the biggest tanker in Frederick County for many years. In 1979 the company voted to allow women to join and Susan Hawkins became the company’s first female firefighter. Also that year, the company added a Brush Unit and Ambulance service was started with the purchase of a new Ford Wheeled Coach Ambulance. Many members completed first-aid, CPR and EMT classes. The company appointed William Zimmer as the first Rescue Chief.

In 1982, residents of the Green Valley area began expressing concern about getting faster service for their emergencies. With that in mind, the company held a public meeting at the Green Valley Elementary School for the purpose of establishing a sub-station in that area. With great public interest, the company proceeded with the project. A fundraising program was started and land was purchased from the county. Ground-breaking for the new station took place on July 1, 1984. The station was completed and dedicated on June 23, 1985. In 1987 the old 1955 Ford was retired from service along with its designation of number 151 and it was put into storage. In 1989 career staff was added to Station 15 to assist with apparatus staffing needs.

Several pieces of apparatus were replaced from 1989 to 1997. The company received it a KME Engine Tanker from the county in 1994 and also a KME Rescue Engine in 1997. Also that year the company ended the annual carnival after 41 years. In 2000, the department expanded its services to include water rescue, with a purchase of a DIB Rescue Sled boat. In 1999 the company voted to restore the original 1955 Ford engine and the project began in 2003. The old engine is currently being restored with a projected completion expected in early 2010. Also in 2003 the company voted to build a new dining hall in addition to allowing Frederick County to build a new fire station on the old carnival grounds. The new station and hall never came to fruition with years of financial and administrative hardship overcoming the company. In 2009, the 1997 KME Rescue Engine was replaced by Frederick County with a 2009 Pierce Velocity Rescue Engine. Along with this acquisition, for the first time RE153 was designated as a Heavy Rescue Squad.

In 2011, the department was once again on the rise. With new administrative leadership at the helm, under the lead of President Paul Hackey and Treasurer Robert Skelton, and in 2012 new operational leadership under Fire Chief Ben Nalborczyk, the department took a drastic turn for the better. Work was begun on plans to renovate the circa 1959 firehouse and social hall to avoid the county’s proposal to move the fire house outside of town. Work began in Late 2012, and ended in May 2013. The renovations gutted the old building, adding a second floor, expanding the apparatus bays, and remodeling the social hall and kitchen. The project cost in total $1.2 million dollars. This was funded completely through community donations and fundraisers. During the course of the project changes were made operationally that would have a lasting effect on the department. Career staffing was removed from Co. 15 due to unsuitable facilities being available, leaving the volunteer staff to keep the apparatus getting out the door 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This continued for over six months, until the new station was completed. Upon the return of the career staffing, only day work staff was retained, leaving the volunteers to staff the firehouse on nights and weekends.

The department began to grow steadily in membership, with the new firehouse and staffing model drawing many members in. The number of active riding members grew from 30 in 2012 to over 80 in 2015. The department took delivery of a new Chevy/Stem’s Fire Apparatus brush unit in late 2012. This was purchased solely with department funds. In 2013, the department began to research the replacement of the 1994 KME Engine Tanker, which was showing its age. The New Engine Committee worked hard and in February 2014 signed a contract with KME Fire Apparatus for a new 750 gallon engine company. The department decided to downsize from a tanker apparatus because of the growth of the area, leading to many more available hydrants than in the mid 1990’s. The department took delivery of the 2014 KME Predator engine just after Christmas in 2014. It was quickly trained on and had its equipment mounted by the department’s members. It was placed in service just a couple months later. This was the first volunteer purchased engine company in 30 years. Also in 2014, the department welcomed the arrival of the newly restored Engine 151, which underwent over 10 years of work. The unit will be used in many public education and parade events for years to come.

In 2016, the department moved forward with two apparatus replacement projects. The first was to replace the Ambulance 159, a Frederick County owned 2002 Ford E-450 / Horton. The department was able to achieve significant cost savings by purchasing a rehabbed body on new chassis configuration. The work was performed by Global Emergency Vehicles of Pennsylvania. The new 2017 F450/GEV ambulance was placed in service in February of 2017. The unit is dedicated to Assistant Chief Jay Betts for his numerous years of service and dedication to the emergency medical services at NMDVFC. The second major acquisition was the addition of a true heavy duty rescue squad to replace the county-owned rescue engine. A 2001 Peterbilt/Saulsbury Rescue Squad was acquired from Hollywood VFD in St Mary’s County, MD in July of 2016. The volunteers spent over nine months on a major rehab of the unit, to include: full re-paint to department colors, striping & graphics, replacement of cascade system, new LED warning, DOT, and scene lights, equipment mounting, and Amkus system installation. The volunteers put in thousands of man hours in this process. The unit was placed in service in April of 2017. This is the first rescue squad in the history of the department, and was dedicated to Matthew and Brady Thews for their outstanding commitment and dedication to the project and the department.

The department continues to operate with day work only career staff and volunteer duty crews. The NMDVFC responds to nearly 1500 calls for service each year. The department has not experienced a failure to respond on any call since November 2013. This is an outstanding accomplishment within Frederick County and surrounding areas. The New Market District VFC looks forward to many more years of continued success and service to the New Market community.