There was very little fire protection in the town of Weare before 1926. What fire protection the citizens of Weare had, was the use of soda and acid extinguishers placed in various homes, places of business, such as stores and shops, located throughout the town. At the town meeting in 1926 it was voted to purchase a fire truck that was to be housed at Weare Center. The hearse house adjacent to the town hall was remodeled into a fire station. A portable power pump with 500 feet of hose was purchased the next year, and after a few years, two more pumps were added. These pumps were housed at East Weare and South Weare. In 1933 a new chassis was purchased to carry the equipment that was on the old Model T. Truck. The citizens of the town began to realize their fire protection was still very inadequate and there were many improvements to be made. There was no general alarm system and the truck was driven by the first man to reach it. In 1934 a pump and booster tank was purchased that was to be installed on the truck purchased in 1933. After the town had acquired the new equipment, the men in town began to realize the need for an organized fire company. This fault was remedied in 1934 when Charles F. Eastman, Gerald R. Right, and Wilder D. Tenney as the leaders, gathered together a group of thirty-four men and organized the Weare Fire Department. The officers were to be Chief, Deputy Chief, Clerk, and four companies of eight men each headed by a Captain and Lieutenant. Gerald Hight was elected Chief. Five fire wards were appointed to administer the fire department. The equipment was located as follows: Weare Center Fire House housed a fire truck and the main equipment, namely, a large portable pump, 1850 feet of 1 1/2 inch hose, a 135 gallon booster tank and power take-off pump, ladders, shovels, back pumps and other tools. A siren was mounted on the library building. A small portable pump, 500 feet of hose and accessories was located at South and East Weare Stations. The fire department has always held meetings once a month and each company is required to hold several drills a year. In 1933 as a relief measure, the State Forestry Department made an appropriation to towns for digging water holes for fire protection. At this time eight water holes were dug in Weare. The W.P.A. built four dams and dug twenty more water holes in 1936. This made twenty-eight water holes located throughout the town and gave much needed protection to many buildings, which lessened the fire hazard a great deal. Up to this time if a house caught fire, and there was no brook or pond nearby, the local well was all the water the firemen had available to work with. The first fire of any size to be extinguished by the department was Slack's store in Chase Village in May of 1935. The following summer the men of the department built two trailers to carry the equipment, which was stationed at South and East Weare. In 1937 two second-hand trucks replaced these trailers. The next year, 1938, these trucks were equipped with front-end mounted pumps. Each of these trucks had a booster tank connected to the pump and were fitted with a load of 2-1/2 inch hose. These trucks were housed, one in a barn and the other in a horse shed. The East Weare Fire Station was built in 1943. Frank Clough, a long time resident of East Weare, provided the lumber for this station. A chimney was built on this station in 1948. The department decided to build a new fire station at Weare Center in 1946, because the old fire station near the town hall was very unsatisfactory. In April the firemen held a chopping bee on two different Sundays to cut lumber for the building. The wives of the firemen served the men dinner on these days. The lumber cut for the station was sawed and stored at the site of the present fire station in Weare Center. The next spring it was voted at a town meeting to raise the sum of four hundred ($400.) for the purchase of cement blocks. The building of the station started in the fall of 1948 with donated labor from the firefighters. The equipment was housed in this new building the following spring. The fire department at Reading, Massachusetts gave the department the two front doors. The station is constructed of cement block two stories high, and has a recreation hall and a well-furnished kitchen on the second floor. This hall is used for meetings by the fire department, auxiliary and other community groups. A tank truck purchased in 1949 was housed in the new central station and carried 800 gallons of water had a front mounted pump. Several sets of buildings were saved from fire within the first few years of its operation. The station was being heated temporarily with stoves and in 1950 the steam heating plant was installed. Arthur Bailey a former resident of Weare gave a plot of land in South Weare to the department in 1951. The lumber to build this station was cut on the town forest by the members of the department and a company for whom one fireman worked donated the cement for the foundation and floor. In 1952 the inside of this station was finished and heated with stoves. A portable lighting plant was purchased by the department and mounted on the number one truck this same year. In 1953 the town purchased two new trucks, complete with 500-gallon water tanks. These trucks were stationed at South and East Weare, and permitted the carrying of a great deal more hose and equipment, thus providing the villages with greater protection. The insurance precinct was extended by the insurance underwriters to a two-mile radius from the central fire station in 1953. At South and East Weare a one mile radius was established. The next year, in order to extend the insurance precinct at South and East Weare to a two-mile radius, two new Class A pumps were purchased for the trucks and tested by the underwriters. In 1954 each company of the department was increased from eight to ten men. Air compressors were installed in these stations and air horns were mounted on the buildings to provide a better alarm system. Two Scott Air Pack breathing masks were purchased by the company in 1955 to be used for rescue work and when extinguishing smoky or gaseous fires. Engine No. 1 was equipped with a front-mounted pump. Automatic oil-burning furnaces were installed in South and East Weare Stations in 1956 to replace the stoves previously used there. This same year, remote controls for the air-horns were installed at various places in the villages to speed up the sounding of fire alarms. A larger air-horn was installed at the central station in 1957. This was in anticipation of the changing over to dial phones, which eliminated the local operator who had always been the means of giving the alarms. In 1958 a base radio was installed at the central station and a mobile mounted set at each of the three stations. Also added at this time was an additional assistant chief and a rescue squad of fifteen men was organized. These men were selected from the department, and given training in first-aid and rescue work to take care of any medical emergencies that might arise in the town. The town used a resuscitator purchased by the various organizations in the community. The department has purchased additional first-aid equipment and the American Red Cross has set up within the fire department an emergency first-aid station. Through a continual building program the department's trucks were fully equipped with hose, helmets, coats, ladders, boots and miscellaneous tools and fittings. In 1958 the Dial Telephone System was installed throughout the town and became effective in December of 1958. This necessitated putting in a fire line with so-called "red phones" at various places to receive calls for the fire department. These "red phones" and radio receivers placed in homes of members of the department took the place of the telephone operator, the dispatching system. In the summer of 1958 the town received a gift of a fire alarm system from the town of Ashland, Massachusetts that provides for boxes to be located in the villages. When an alarm box was activated it blew the numbers on the box in the form of a code from the air horn at the central station. Due to the flood control project in East Weare a new station was built on Concord Stage Rd. in 1960 and the old station was sold and moved to its current location on Dustin Tavern Rd. The truck was moved to the new station in late 1960. In 1961 a new truck with a 500-gallon tank was ordered from Farrah in Mass. to replace engine 1 in the central station. It arrived late in 1961 and replaced the 1933 truck at the central station. During the next couple of years the department acquired new equipment such as more hose and additional Scott air pack's. Since the addition of the rescue squad in 1958 the department has been responsible for transporting the sick and injured to area hospitals. Patients were transported in a member's private station wagon until 1965 when an old hearse donated by the French and Rising funeral home was retrofitted into a transport ambulance. In 1969 the department again expanded with a 2 bay addition at the central station to house an acquired 3000-gallon tanker truck. The members also transformed a new Ford van that was purchased from So.Weare Garage into a transport ambulance. During the early 1970's the town recognized the need for a station on the west side of town so the Lakeview station was built on donated land with donated labor was finished in late 1972. It is known as the Lakeview station due to its close proximity to lake Horace. In the fall of 1972 a new engine with a 750 G.P.M pump and a 750-gallon tank arrived from Farrah in Mass. and replaced the 1949 ford pumper which was moved to the Lakeview station. In 1979 a new Ford van was purchased from the So. Weare Garage and again, through many member donated hours, was transformed from an empty van into a transport ambulance. During the late 1970's the department purchased more modern equipment including several new nozzles and it's first 4" hose. In 1980 a new "mid-ship" pumper was purchased that created a big transition for the department. This was the first "mid-ship" pump in the fleet as all the previous pumpers had a front mounted pump. It was ordered without a booster reel but had a1000 G.P.M pump and a 1000-gallon tank with a 5" dump valve in the rear so it could be used as a tanker. It was one of the last Farrah trucks built and they closed their doors shortly after the delivery. The pumper was put in service as engine 5 at the Central Station, the 1972 pumper was moved to the south station as engine 4 and the truck at the south station was moved to the Lakeview station as engine 2. The 1949 truck was retired. The department saw the need for a more modern tanker and purchased a used Mack chassis in 1982. Valley Fire Equipment built and installed a new 2800-gallon tank, which was quite the change from the military tanker that served the department for over 10 year's. During the 1980's there was such large growth in the community the town was forced to adopt a water supply ordinance that required developers to install cisterns and dry hydrant's in areas of high growth. Expansion in the town was very widespread and people were building homes in areas that would require 4 wheel drive reach them. In 1987 a 4-wheel drive rescue pumper was ordered to replace engine 1. It arrived in the fall and housed a 1000 G.P.M. pump, a 750-gallon tank and the "jaws of life", along with other rescue gear, and was put in service at the central station as engine 1. The old engine 1 was moved to the Sugar Hill station and reassigned as engine 2 and engine 3 was moved to the Lakeview station. In 1988 the town was still having growing pains and realized it needed to expand its ambulance service to an advanced live support level. A modular ambulance was ordered on a 4-wheel drive Ford chassis with extra compartments to carry equipment on the outside, which allowed more personnel to work inside. The town continued to grow and several large business projects were proposed so it was decided to replace the old South Weare station with a new 2 bay station on the same site. It would allow for 2 trucks and office space in the rear, as well as bathrooms, and was completed in 1990. The old station was moved. In 1990 the department ordered a new pumper/tanker from E-One in Florida, which was delivered in the winter of 1991 and put into service at the South Weare Station as engine 4. The 1972 engine was moved to the Sugar Hill Station as engine 2. During the 1990's the department acquired new air packs and added to its equipment to bring the department up to standard. The department had one of its most dedicated member's retire in 1996 when Florence Weldon, a long time dispatcher, decided to hang up microphone for the last time after more than 30 year's of service. Florence operated the dispatch from her home in Weare Center. For several years she operated the dispatch for both fire and police. During this same period Kathy Rhodenizer, the department's part time dispatcher, decided to retire. On April 3 1998 the Weare Fire Department experienced a very tragic event with the unexpected death of Chester "punky" Rhodenizer who was the fire chief for more than 20 year's. In June 1998 Raymond T. Eaton Sr. was appointed to replace "Punky". During 1999 engine 3, the 1961 Ford, was taken out of service do to needed repairs that exceeded the budget. In 2000 a new, bigger ambulance was purchased from Road Rescue to replace the aging 1988 Ford. It allows for more room for patients, personnel and equipment. The amount of equipment has steadily increased due to the ever-increasing number of medical calls. The year 2001 brought another big change to the fire department with the purchase of the first heavy rescue truck, which contained paramedic equipment used to respond to medical calls, as well as heavy rescue equipment used at automobile accidents and rescues. It also responds to fire calls. Today the department protects a community with a population of about 8,000, which is settled over 63 square miles. The community is mostly residential with some light commercial and operates out of three stations with three engines, one engine-tanker, one 2800-gallon tanker, one heavy rescue and one ambulance. The department responds to about 550 calls per year and is lead by Chief Robert Richards, Raymond Eaton Sr., Fire Commissioner with over 40 years service to the department, and a support staff of one Asst. Chief, four Captains, and one lieutenant.