In the spring of 1932, East Berlin, the smallest and most rural of Berlin’s three districts, was submerged like the rest of the country, in the Great Depression. One very local issue, however, also concerned the residents of town-the problem of adequate fire protection. The previous year (April 1931) the city of New Britain had agreed to extend water mains to the Kensington and East Berlin fire districts. The town still depended on New Britain for fire protection, which meant a considerable lapse of time between a call for help and the arrival of New Britain’s fire equipment in East Berlin.
The town event that turned the town’s concern from talk to action was a fire on March 10, 1932 at a house on Cottage Street owned by John P. Lewis. The house was undergoing repairs and was vacant when an overheated furnace started a fire.
Within two weeks, an article appeared in the New Britain Herald inviting all men 18 years old and over to join the proposed fire company. Two general meetings were held, one on April 19, 1932 and a second on April 25, 1932 when the fire-fighting officers were named. George Skene was to serve as the first Fire Chief.
The first alarm on record occurred May 5, 1932 when a call for help went out and fire men answered with their only piece of equipment, a borrowed 50 foot ladder. The call was to rescue a kitten stuck in a tree.
Those first meetings were held at John Lewis’ house, the same one that was damaged by fire back in March.
Current Apparatus; Rescue 1, Engine 7, Engine 6 and Utility 5.
Officers
