Elkins Park Fire Company History: 130 Years And Counting
This company began as the Old York Road Fire Company on September 20, 1892, when public-spirited citizens organized after a fire that took the lives of an adult and several children.
Organized firefighting was relatively unknown to the area at the time, so it was the first company established in Cheltenham Township. The earliest members included prominent citizens, such as Wanamaker, Elkins, Israel, Widener, Shoemaker, Stetson, and Wall.
The first equipment used by the company was buckets, ladders, lanterns, and fire hooks, stored in a shed at the northeast corner of Ashbourne and Montgomery, at the rear of Klosterman’s Grocery store. When a fire was sighted and called in to the telephone in the store, the alarm would sound by steam whistle on top of the P.R.T. power station. In 1893, the Ashbourne-Melrose Park area became one of the first in the county to have its own water company, and soon, the Fire Company added a hose reel to its equipment. A pumping station was built at Mill Road and Stratford Avenue. Fire hydrants were gradually installed throughout the area.
The Old York Road Fire Company of Cheltenham was officially chartered in 1904, retaining that name until 1926, when it was changed to Elkins Park Fire Company to avoid confusion with several other companies that by then had popped up along the famous old highway.
Public support for the Company aided its growth, and William E. Dobbins gave the Company his land at the current location of 7818 Montgomery Avenue for a nominal price in 1904. A bell at the peak of the roof replaced the steam whistle and railroad tie in the job of calling volunteers to action.
In 1907, the flagpole out front was dedicated, the first fire drill was held by the Active Department, and the company changed from manpower to horsepower to pull the Chemical Engine and Hose Cart. Alarm bells were installed in the homes of members in October 2011 to facilitate the speed with which volunteers could answer the call – believed to be the first home alarm system in the Philadelphia area. In 1913, the Company owned the first motorized pumper in Cheltenham Township – a 1000 GPM pumper nicknamed the Gray Terror, though its color was a light beige – the same color that has remained a tradition throughout the company’s history.
The Active Department recommended to Fire Board in 1976 that all homes should have at least one smoke detector, and this recommendation became a Township Ordinance. The Company accepted its first junior firefighters in 1981. The Elkins Park Fire Company’s history is marked by continual improvements in equipment, participation in local parades, and some memorable building fires over the years, including the Coventry Dinner Theater on New Year’s Day 1974 and the Yorktown Inn Shopping Center blaze in 1989.
The Company continues to strive to provide the best fire service to our community, from researching equipment to training members weekly. And the rest, as they say, is history!
Want to read more?
With your contribution of $100 or more, you can get a copy of this beautiful 20-page hardbound book, printed at our 125th Anniversary in 2017, with an in-depth look at the history of Elkins Park Fire Company. (Please contact us with your interest after making your donation.)