Clayton Fire Co. #1 Inc. - Firehouses on Waymarking.com

On April 29, 1889 the Town of Clayton purchased a hand truck from the Town of Smyrna for $65 and at that time, no doubt, it was thought Clayton had a full-fledged fire company. The enthusiasm wore off before long. Everyone would go to the fire and leave the truck in the firehouse due to its being heavy to pull, especially over dirt roads in the winter.


In 1891 the first fire company was organized. The Pennsylvania Railroad Company donated a hose reel and 500 feet of hose and members and citizens of the town gave suppers and received donations to lay a water main from the pump house of Mrs. Annie Allen's corner, from Main Street and Clayton Avenue to Rodney Street. This was done without any cost to the town and the water was furnished by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company.

This same organization continued until 1908 when a hand chemical truck was purchased. It consisted of two chemical tanks mounted on a hand fire truck and was purchased from the U.S. Fire Apparatus Company in Wilmington for the sum of $650.

In 1916, the town purchased a Stewart truck from Gomery & Swartz for $1,400. The tanks were taken off the hand chemical truck and placed on this truck. Everything was painted and looked like new. This was the first piece of motorized fire apparatus.

In April 1923 the company purchased its first pumping engine, a Reo truck with a Northern pump and chemical, for $4,500.

In 1926 R.H. Hollet was elected president. In March the Town Building was purchased for $3,250. This building is basically the southeast section of the firehouse from which the company moved into in 1968.

The Fire Company celebrated a great milestone in 1991 when we celebrated our 100th anniversary. In May of that year during weeklong events we honored all those members that have served and continue to serve the citizens of Clayton and surrounding area's. The highlights of the week was a large parade through Clayton and a formal banquet.

The Clayton Fire Company takes great pride in our unit, our community, our county, and our state. Our goal is to provide this fire district with the best equipment and firefighting knowledge possible. We pride ourselves as being "professionals", dedicating ourselves and this Company to keep "Station 45" as one of the best, not only in our county, but in the state as well

Paid or Volunteer: Volunteer Has 911 Dispatch: yes Has Emergency Siren: yes Has Fire Pole: yes Average Alarms Per Year: 300 Number of Firetrucks: 4 Related Website: [Web Link] Physical Address: 214 Railroad Avenue Clayton, DE Kent 19938 Rating: EMS Involvement: Not Listed Has Emergency Call Box: Not Listed Number of Emergency Staff: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:
The only requirement is to visit this location physically, in person, and write about your experience.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   12/31/2008 ODragon visited it

View all visits/logs