The papers in this collection cover all of the Alexandria Fire Department's business and legal transactions over a span of one hundred years. The canceled checks show the many expenditures necessary to outfit, maintain, and operate the volunteer fire companies. There are also many receipts from commercial firms who provisioned, repaired, serviced and supplied the volunteer fire companies. The Alexandria Common Council appropriated money each year to cover the entire Fire Department.
Many reports to the Common Council are included. These contain appropriations for the fire companies, fire warden appointees and resignations, construction and repair of fire houses, minutes of Fire Department meetings, the establishment of a Fire Department Board of Directors and the enactment of laws covering fire house bells and assembly at fire houses.
One report from the Fire Department, dated May 8, 1860, describes how much usable hose each fire company has on-hand and requests purchase of more hose, in linear feet. A quarterly report dated August 15, 1851 lists the number of members in each fire company: The Sun had 111; the Relief, 63; the Friendship, 76; the Star, 47; and the Hydraulion, 52.
Additional materials donated in 1995
[Item identification], Milton Penn Collection, MS267, Alexandria Library, Local History/Special Collections, Alexandria, Va.
The material is arranged chronologically by type of correspondence or business-related transaction. Arrangement repeated for Box 2 added in 1995.
Alexandria vertical file: Fire Department, Old Charles Sampson collections, MS053 and MS126.
The Alexandria Fire Department included five different volunteer fire companies during the period covered in these records. The first was the Friendship Fire Company, founded in 1774 and located on 107 South Alfred Street. Next was the Sun Fire Company in 1775. The Relief Fire Company was begun in 1788 and was located at 315 Prince Street. The Star Fire Company was started in 1799 and combined with the Friendship in 1852. Its new name was the Columbia Engine Company #4, when it was equipped with a new steam-powered fire engine in 1883. It was located at 109 South St. Asaph Street. In 1827, the Hydraulion Fire Company was founded. It was located at 1210 Cameron Street.
Each household in Alexandria purchased fire insurance and was assigned a specific fire company in case of disaster. The volunteer fire companies would not assist anyone without a plaque on their domicile or business, proving they were legitimately covered with insurance from the Fire Insurance Company of Alexandria.