10401 Owings Mills Boulevard
Owings Mills, MD. 21117-3505

The Owings Mills Volunteer Fire Company was originally an idea the community had for the protection of lives and property. After all, volunteer companies in neighboring communities, such as Pikesville, Reisterstown, and Glyndon, were already established. The communities concern for fire protection led to several informal sessions at Hoff's Black Smith Show which resulted in a general community meeting. This meeting was held at Rosewood Center on September 24, 1921, and is the place and day the Owings Mills Fire Company was born. Since then, the growth of the company has been nothing short of impressive.

With the company established, the community found no reason to hesitate moving forward towards their first goals. Establishing an administration, beginning a membership drive, and planning fund raisers, were the stepping stones that would lead to purchasing the first fire engine for the company. The first officers were chosen, firemens' badges were ordered for members, and minstrel shows, benefit movies, bake sales, card parties, carnivals, and raffles brought money into the company. Eventually the hard work paid off, money added up, and it was time to order a fire engine. Every make and type of fire engine had its own supporters, but eventually the field narrowed down to the Stutz and the LaFrance. On one final vote the LaFrance won and was ordered and arrived on February 21, 1924.

The American LaFrance was a type 38 triple combination, 500 gallon per minute pumper with solid tire, two wheel breakes, and right hand drive. It carried a 35 gallon chemical tank, 1000 feet of 2 1/2 inch hose and equipment and tools for fighting structural and field fires. This was the original Engine.

The work taken to obtain this engine was great, but the challenges of having it in service would be found to be even greater. This exceptional piece of apparatus was kept in service originally by an eleven man firefighting crew, dispatched via telephone through a street car dispatcher, and housed at the Trouble Station at United Railways car barn. The original fire crew had no organized program for traning available to them. The only training they received was when an actual fire occurred. The firefighting gear that was used was a heavy black rubber coat and hat, and a heavy pair of boots. The crew was alerted to a fire via a steam whistle at the town power house. Alarms were telphoned in to the street car dispatcher who had the engineer blow the whistle - three times for south, four times for north, and once for downtown. Because these were times of manual telephones, all calls were handled by operators. The two exchanges were Pikesville and Reisterstown and operators reported fires to the nearest exchange - not nearest to the fire. Many times first information of a fire in Owings MIlls came when neighboring engines came driving by en route to a fire. When word finally got to the fire crew, they would go to the Trouble Station car barn where the engine was kept and respond to the location of the fire where more obstacles were to be met. Obtaining water supply was very difficult at the scene of a fire. There were no water mains north of Pikesville and there were no tankers. Eventually, the problems the company faced at that time would all be solved in the future with the development of an organized dispatching system, extensive training programs, and a county wide water main supply system.

In the 1930's the town of Owings Mills began to develop and it was obvious the fire company needed to grow as well. Street cars gave way to buses and the power house was abandoned along with the steam whistle which was replaced by a five horse power siren. The company searched for new quarters and the debate of choices from Pleasant Hill to Garrison resulted in the Reisterstown Rd. porperty which was the downtown area at that time. The property was purchased for $2,000.00, but before a building could be constructed, the car barn at the Trouble Station was sold to the Owings Mills Distillery and the company had to find temporary housing. The basement at Hoff's Garage was the temporary sight and proved the need for permanent quarters with its electrical difficulties and limited space. The company needed and wanted a place of their own that they could consider home. Discussions were held and soon the first stage of the Reisterstown Rd. building had begun. The building covered just the space of the southermost bays of the Reisterstown Rd. engine room. The siren was reinstalled on the engine house and on July 4, 1934, the fire company dedicated the building that still stands today.

The new building was a great step forward for the company, ,but it soon proved to be too small. This problem was solved in 1938 when the first addition of the building was constructed. It was a third engine bay that included a kitchen and rest rooms and allowed enough space for a second piece of apparatus.

Inevitably, in 1940, a second piece of equipment was purchased. It was an American LaFrance Cities Service Truck with eleven ladders, a booster pump and a hose rack. It was ten years old when it was bought, but its fifty foot ladder was the longest and by far the heaviest in Baltimore County. The purchase of this truck enabled Owings Mills to respond with multiple pieces of equipment to local fires. This would demonstrated to be a great advantage in the future with the rapid development of the community.

In the late 1940's, the company continued to witness progress and grow while at the same time feeling the hardships World War II had brought to the United States. During this period the company had purchased from Army Surplus a Four Wheel Drive Dodge Fire Truck. Using Civil Defense equipment and a fuel oil tank, members of the company built the Dodge into a reasonably efficient tanker and field fire truck. The alarm system had improved during this time with four sirens at strategic locations and controlled by a telephone relay at the engine house. Fortunately, electronic advances during and after the war were so great that it became possible to use alarm systems actuated by a radio control at a central location. Effective in 1950, the County Government respectively assumed the operation of a county - wide system with Central Alarm Headquarters in Towson. The closing of the War had brought new ideas and spirit to the company. A Mack 750 gallon per minute pumper was ordered, a meeting room, storage room and hose tower were built at the read of the Reisterstown Rd. building, and a long needed firemens training program was instituted and enthusiastically received.

In the 1950's, the training programs were intensified, particularly with regards to the use of face masks and fog streams and Baltimore County paid fire department was rapidly acquiring new prestige in training and equipment. This decade has also retired the original 1924 engine shortly after the Mack Pumper was put into service. Two additional updated pieces of equipment were purchased and replaced the Dodge Tanker and the LaFrance Cities Service Truck. The new apparatus consisted of a Ford Four Wheel Drive Tanker and a Maxim "Quint" Combination Pumper and 65 foot Aerial Ladder Truck.

In the 1960's a long awaited hall was constructed over the building and demonstrated immediate success with weekly bingo, teenage "Record Hops", and many other company and community activities. The Ford Tanker was replaced by a Jeep for field fires and a Hahn 750 gallon per minute pumper. A utility truck was purchased and soon replaced by a larger one. The "Quint" was soon sold and a 75 foot Mack Aerial Ladder Truck was purchased from Green Haven and put into service in 1970.

The significant event for the company in the early 1970's was the beginning of the ambulance service. Debated for years, it was finally brought to a head in 1970 and after training for crews was complete, the ambulance was placed in service in June 1971. Its daily use proves that it was long over due.

In 1971 the Owings Mills Fire Company celebrated its 50th year anniversary, a milestone for the company. The company had grown significantly since its birth in 1921 and continued to do so in the years that followed. The community continued to expand with new roads and housing developments, all the while provifing support to help improve the company in many ways. The adminstration saw young faces with fresh ideas. Fund raisers such as the annual fund drive, carnival, and Christmas tree sales continued to bring money to the company. The officers still looked to purchaisng the most efficient and updated equipment. Membership was counted in the hundreds and woment became active members of the company. The alarm system became so that most of the community could determine the nature of a call - one blow for the ambulance, and four for the Engine, Turck, and Special Unit. Crews that did not hear the siren would eventually be paged with a low band pager when developed in the future. Training is a requirment to ride apparatus and is extensive and up dated constantly. With the county wide water main system, obtaining water supply no longer was an obstacle, and where fires occur with no available water supply, tanker trucks await at near by fire houses. Owings Mills became the pioneers of the large diameter hose, which allows maximum water flow from a hydrant. All of these elements have helpted the company progress through the years to what it is today.

As we move into the 21st century the Owings Mills Volunteer Fire Company remains on the leading edge of both fire suppression and emergency medial services with a modern 1994 Seagrave 2000 gallon per minute pumper, a 1993 Simon-Duplex Ladder Truck, a 1994 Ford-Marion 450 gallon per minute Special Unit, a 1994 Ford-Horton Medic Unit, and a 1995 Dodge 4WD Utility Truck. We are proud to be able to continue to serve our community as well as to grow with each passing year. It would never have been possible without the Commitment of the members and their families, and the constant support received from the entire community of Owings Mills. We recognize and appreciate this constant and unconditional support.