History
The initial steps to form a fire station were taken in February of 1910. They held a meeting at the Bramcote Hotel to start the process of organizing the fire dept. West End Fire Co of Stowe was chartered on May 16, 1910. Stanley Flagg III was the first president of the fire Co.
In 1912, the first fire house was built on the present property. The firehouse was an imposing 2 story structure. In 1936, the building was enlarged for the first time. In 1947, the first firehouse was enlarged for the second time in preparation for future equipment.
Some pieces of apparatus owned by West End Fire Co. are:
The first piece was a hand drawn hand cart—piece was donated by Empire Hook and Ladder of Pottstown. This piece was housed at a garage on Glasgow St owned by Adam Roth.
In 1914 we acquired our first piece of apparatus that was motorized—Boyd Pumper
In 1925 the Boyd Pumper was replaced with a brand new Hahn tanker.
The next truck was a 1941 GMC Auxiliary truck. This truck carried portable equipment such as pumps, lights, and Indian Tanks for field fires.
In 1948, the fire co saw 2 new pieces of apparatus. The first being a 1948 Brewster Buffalo. The 1948 Brewster Buffalo was ahead of its time with a fully enclosed van with 2 bench seats capable of carrying 7-8 men. This piece in 2007 was donated to the Hall of Flames in Phoenix AZ. The second being a 1948 Crosley Station Wagon. It was converted into authentic miniature fire pumper. This was built by Raymond Egolf, Randall Egolf, Delmar Egolf and Fire Chief David Boone. This piece carried regular equipment and could be used to fight fires.
In 1958, West End got a new Chevy Tanker. Then in 1963, we purchased a 1963 ford with Boyertown body. In 1973, we purchased a 1973 Ward Lafrance. In 1989, we replaced the 1958 Chevy Tanker with a brand new 1989 Hahn tanker. In 1998 the company purchased a 1987 Ford Box Ambulance and converted it into Traffic 57. In 2002 we replaced the 1948 Brewster Buffalo with a brand new Ferrara pumper truck. This truck was paid for by West Pottsgrove Township, and given to the men and women of West End Fire Co.
In 2003, West Pottsgrove Township donated a 1988 Chevrolet Caprice to use for a chiefs responder vehicle. In 2004, West Pottsgrove Township paid for the upgrade of the radio system to the 800 megahertz radios. In 2009, purchased a 2003 F550 utility to be used as the Special Service.
In 2011, the West End Fire Co is growing in both knowledge and members. There are 25 active members of the fire co including the fire police. These members train year long mostly on Thursday nights to learn new skills and keep up with the skills they have obtained.