Following the incorporation of the Village of Marcellus in 1853, a total of 21 separate ordinances were passed by the first Board of Trustees. These laws dealt with matters that parallel, in many ways, the concerns of today's village residents including a major concern with fire protection,
"lighted candles or lamps or cigars in a livery or barn, keeping ashes secure, chimney, boiler and
furnace construction." The final ordinance, #21, also called for the election, in 1854, of three
Fire Wardens, whose responsibility it would be to enforce the fire laws.

This was the first reference in Marcellus Village history to providing
fire protection and in the March election of 1854, Myron S. Mills,
Sanford Dalliba and Edmund Aiken were elected Fire Wardens. The
electorate was also asked to appropriate money for the purchase of
hooks and ladders and the building of reservoirs, but these requests
were denied by the voters, and a vote that many would later regret.
The Board of Trustees in 1859 again asked the voters "that a tax of
$1,000 be levied on taxable property to purchase an engine to
extinguish fires in said village and that there be raised in like manner
$300 for building reservoirs in said village." (Village Board Minutes, 1859).
Again these measures failed to pass the voters. It would be more than
twenty years, and only after a series of disastrous fires, that the voters
of the Village agreed to invest in fire fighting expenses.

A disastrous fire in December, 1866 destroyed the Episcopal Church
on the corner of Main and North Streets. "The fire began in the rear
of an adjacent grocery store and in the absence of adequate fire
fighting facilities, the church was a total loss."
(History of Marcellus, 1794-1939, p. 17).
In 1877, the Methodist Church, only twenty one years old, burned.
and "on July 3, 1879, the worst fire in the history of the village
consumed St. John's Episcopal Church on the corner of North and
Main Street, a three story building to the north of the church, and a
small store to the west of it." (Heffernan, p. 56). On July 1, 1884,
another disastrous fire in the village was narrowly avoided. However,
it caused some village residents to petition the Board of Trustees to
call for a special election to raise money for fire protection.

Organization of the Marcellus Fire Department
With the overwhelming approval of village residents, the Board of Trustees began to organize a Fire
Department, purchase fire equipment and build reservoirs. On September 10, 1884, the Union Fire
Department of Marcellus, N.Y. was officially organized. A Fire Chief, Dr. Henry W. Post, was

appointed by the Board of Trustees, along with
Mryon Whiting as the Assistant Chief. Today, The
Marcellus Fire Chief has expanded to include three
assistant chiefs. In addition, a list of names, as
members of the Fire Company, was submitted to the
Village Board for approval, just as they are today.
The Village Board also awarded the contract for
building of fire reservoirs in the Village to Mark
Dorchester. These underground reservoirs, or
cisterns, were to be built in the Village in locations
thought to be appropriate - primarily near the
Churches in the Village Center.

As recently as 1997, one of these reservoirs was uncovered while work has been done on Main Street reconstruction. In the Village of Marcellus today, fire hydrants have replaced the need for cisterns,
but in certain areas of the Town of Marcellus, serviced by the Marcellus Fire Department, there
is a need for what are called "dry hydrants", water reservoirs similar to those used over 100 years
ago in the Village. The Village Board, similar to today's practice, also received recommendations
from the Fire Department for equipment purchases, approving or disallowing such appropriations.

Expanded Responsibility
By 1886, the number of elected Fire Wardens would be reduced from three to two, and after 1887,
Fire Wardens would no longer be elected. With the creation of the Marcellus Volunteer Fire
Department, and the appointing of a Fire Chief and Assistant Chief, the need for the position of
Fire Wardens was eliminated. The Village Board in 1887 also authorized the Marcellus Fire
Department to go to the assistance of those who might need help in Marcellus Falls. This was the
first expansion of Fire Department responsibilities beyond the Village limits. President of the
Village, William H. Gallup, would also begin the appointment of a trustee to oversee the various
departments, including the Fire Department, within Village government, a process that is still in
use today.

An Engine House
By 1888, the Village Board and residents would also decide to raise taxes
and build an Engine House for the fire equipment. A special vote on
September 25, 1888 endorsed the resolutions. The new building would
not only serve the Fire Department, but would also house the Village
Offices, just as it does today. This fire station, on Slocombe Avenue,
was a two story frame building with a tower for drying hose. The doors
opened by pulling a large ring attached to a rope in the center of the
double doors. As the ring was pulled, both doors would swing outward
and using a horse-drawn engine with a hose cart and hose, the
volunteers responded to the fire alarm.

An Alarm System
The first alarm system was a large triangle, about four feet high, with a large bar that was used
to hit around the three sides. The next system used was a church bell, rung to alert the volunteer
citizens to the dangers of fire in the village. The owner of the first team of horses to reach the
fire received $5, and the second team owner $3, plus $1 an hour for working the pump. After a
time a siren was installed in the top of the hose tower and still later a line was installed to the
telephone switchboard of the Finger Lakes Telephone Company and the operator on duty would
receive a call and then set the siren off by closing a switch. After several years, the Fire
Department purchased the Gamewell System, which consisted of an air horn connected to control
boxes, which were supposed to be placed in various parts of the village. However, the only one
installed was on the front of the fire barn (now the village offices) and the telephone operator
continued to operate the siren manually.

Incorporation
In 1892, the Board of Trustees agreed to allow the Marcellus Fire
Department to incorporate, and the Marcellus Union Fire Department
became known as the Marcellus Volunteer Fire Department, Inc..
Administration of the Department, as well as ownership and
maintenance of fire equipment would still be the responsibility of the
Village Board of Trustees, but the volunteers were now a separate
corporation, with all attendant rights and responsibilities.

Inspection Day
By the turn of the century, the Marcellus Fire Department numbered over 30 volunteers, all sworn
in before the Board of Trustees and recognized as members. New uniforms were procured and
Inspection Day in 1901 was recorded in a July edition of The Marcellus Observer.
Providing fire protection for the Village and the Falls did not mean that danger was averted.
Sherman's Paper Mill suffered a loss due to fire in November of 1902 and another fire at Marcellus
Falls in December, burned a boarding house to the ground.
By 1903, with the arrival of telephone service, the Village was granted a continuous right of way to
support and carry fire alarm fixtures upon any of the various poles erected in the village.

An Expanded Department
As the Town of Marcellus expanded in the early years of the century, the Village Board was faced
with the question of how the Village Fire Department should respond to fires outside the

Village and the Falls. A 1905 decision by the Board
of Trustees, left that to the discretion of the Fire
Chief. Today, the Marcellus Fire Department
responds not only to emergencies inside and
outside the village but is also on call for mutual
aid to fire departments in surrounding
communities.
In 1907, the Fire Department, represented by Chief
Patrick J. Kelly, "appeared before the Board as a
representative of the Fire Department, in advocacy
of a chemical engine for the village. It was moved
and carried that the Clerk write and get prices of
such engines." In 1911, Frank W. Knapp of the
Marcellus Telephone Exchange, offered the use of
the telephone lines in notifying the Central Station
in case of fire. The offer was accepted by the

Board of Trustees and the Board also offered " . . . the sum of $1.00 to the operator of the Exchange
for receiving the alarm causing the fire bell to be rung and notifying the firemen of the location of
the fire. The said sum to be paid by the owner of the property on fire."
In August of 1919, the Board of Trustees agreed to have the alarm signal on the fire barn coded for
directions - 2 blasts for south, 3 for west, 5 for the village - signaling the volunteers where they
should go to fight the fire. Today, the horn still sounds, but not for direction. Today, one blast is
an ambulance call and 5 blasts signal fire and rescue. In addition, each of the firemen in the
Marcellus Fire Department today is supplied with an individual pager, alerting the volunteer to the
need of fire and/or rescue.

Reservoir and Hydrants
By 1912, a municipal water system had been built in the Village of Marcellus and the waters of
Rockwell Springs would be instrumental in putting out fires. A number of fire hydrants would be
installed and maintained by the Village and the threat of fire was greatly diminished for Village
residents. However, this new water system did not prevent a large fire from damaging the
Lawless Paper Mill in the Falls, in 1914.
The coming of the automobile at the turn of the century also brought changes in fire fighting
equipment. In 1925, the voters of the Village agreed to a $3000.00 bond for a chemical engine
and in the early 1930's, the Fire Department added a Brockway Torpedo as its first piece of
motorized equipment. Described as a "fire extinguisher on wheels," it was credited with helping
to save the Howlett Hill Church when fire broke out there.

Town of Marcellus Fire District
Until the 1930's, the Fire Department was supported by village
residents and the fund raising activities of the firemen. Since
those living outside the village lacked the protection and aid
of the fire department, a petition calling for this service was
circulated and at a Village Board meeting on September 13,
1937, " . . . a contract with the Town of Marcellus, . . .
providing for fire protection within the Town for a period of five
years, for the annual sum of $900.00 was duly approved. . . "by
the Board of Trustees. As a result of this agreement, the Town
of Marcellus then became the fire district and the Department
would respond to emergency situations in what was now the Fire
Protection District. The Fire Department could not, however, " . .
respond to calls outside the Town of Marcellus without the
permission of the Mayor, or in his absence, a Trustee, and then
only when assistance has been asked for by a responsible official
of a neighboring community." It would be a number of years
before the concept of mutual aid would be discussed and adopted.

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