Rocky Hill Fire Department to host cavalcade of old-fashioned equipment.
By: Steve Rauscher
ROCKY HILL The borough Fire Department will celebrate its centennial in style this weekend with a cavalcade of old-fashioned equipment and newfangled fun.
The celebration kicks off with a parade beginning at the eastern end of Washington Street at 11 a.m. Saturday. The procession will include all 20 current members of the department and many former borough firefighters. The firemen will lead a line of antique fire engines and other vehicles down Washington Street and up Montgomery Avenue to Borough Hall, where parents can eat while their kids gawk at the fire trucks, hop on the Moonbounce or have their faces painted.
"There’s a strong sense of community within the borough and the Fire Department," Chief Alan Querec said. "And this is a community event. It should be a lot of fun."
The department will be showing off its own antique equipment, a hand-drawn chemical truck from 1905, and a 1932 motorized truck, both of which were used by the borough when they were brand new.
The event will double, however, as a national meet for the New England Class C Hand-Drawn Fire Engine Group, a regional association that preserves antique fire equipment. Chapters from as far away as New Hampshire and Maryland will put their hand-drawn fire pumpers, some dating back as far as 1750, on display, competing for 30 prizes.
The groups also will hold firefighting competitions, such as who can spray the longest stream of water. The various ancient apparatuses will be lined up along the parade route.
"It’s sort of a game," Chief Querec said. "Anyone who wants to come here on Aug. 17, wherever they’re from, will be welcome."
After the competitions, the firefighters will retire to the firehouse on Washington Street for a banquet, before hosting a dance featuring a DJ and a country and western band at Borough Hall at 7:30 p.m.
Chief Querec said the event will give the department a chance to celebrate its success.
"Rocky Hill has an excellent volunteer corps, for some reason," he said. "Maybe it’s that in small towns, there are a lot of people who come by."
The department has changed a great deal over its 100-year history. In 1902, the borough brigade was the only fire department in the area except for the one in Princeton.
"Back then, Rocky Hill was a very commercial area," Chief Querec said. "Rocky Hill was the town, and Montgomery was the farm."
The department served Montgomery, Franklin and Hillsborough, he said. When it became totally mechanized in 1932, borough firefighters routinely traveled as far as Somerville.
Today, Rocky Hill Hook & Ladder Co. No.1 still serves Montgomery and Franklin, but it has help. The 20-man department answers two to three calls a week, Chief Querec said. Most of the members also serve on the first aid squad.
"What we try to do is keep a lot of people doing both things," he said. "So, if you have a fire, a lot of the people who come out also know first aid."
The department is searching for a few new members, he said, and maybe the centennial celebration will help with that. In any case, he expects a good turnout.
"We hope to get between 200 and 300 people out," he said. "That’s a whole lot of people for this town."