Pittsboro and Middle Township Fire Department

(The Beginning)

     For many years prior to 1951, every able-bodied male citizen of Pittsboro, 21 years or older, were automatically considered to be a member of an unorganized town fire department and expected to answer the fire alarm whenever it sounded.  The Town Marshall - Fire Chief was also the gas, water and electric utilities superintendent, street commissioner and dog catcher.

     Lawrence Marker, the Town Marshall, held all seven jobs simultaneously and was one of the founders of the present fire department.  He served as Town Marshal for 27 years before retiring in 1968.

     In 1935, when the town was 101 years old, the waterworks began operating to supply about 111 water customers and the fire hydrants. Population, according to the 1930 census was 489.  The fire truck was a 1926 Model "T" Ford with three 60 gallon water tanks and a small rotary pump for drafting from wells and cisterns.  The original town hall - fire station at 80 North Meridian was built at this time.

     Fire alarms were received by the switchboard operator at the local telephone exchange on South Maple Street. The operator would turn on the siren to alert the public, then phone the Town Marshal to advise where the fire was located.  The Town Marshal or sometimes the Clerk - Treasurer would drive the fire truck to the scene.  Some of the citizen volunteers might get to the station to ride on the truck, the others ran down the street behind it.

      In 1936, the Model "T" was replaced with a host truck built on a second-hand Model "A" Ford Chassis, previously used by Leo Zerr in his poultry and egg business.  This truck had no pump or windshield, but was equipped with a hand cranked operated siren, and one large spotlight.  The spray nozzles and one and one-half inch lines were generally not available and fire fighting techniques, which depend on getting maximum efficiency from minimum amounts of water were not developed until after World War II.

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