[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 167 (Wednesday, December 5, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S12445]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             200TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CARLISLE FIRE COMPANY

 Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, among the images of September 11th 
that we will never forget, are the pictures of the firefighters rushing 
into the buildings to help, as everyone else who was able was trying to 
get out to safety. At that moment, without discussion or explanation, 
an appreciation for the extraordinary service and leading citizenship 
of firefighters became a prominent and, I hope, permanent feature of 
our collective consciousness.
  In my State of Delaware, we have a rich heritage of local fire 
companies serving our communities, a tradition of neighbors helping 
neighbors. And I rise today to honor one of those local departments, 
the Carlisle Fire Company, which serves the City of Milford, Delaware 
and which will celebrate its 200th anniversary in 2002.
  Originally founded under charter from the State Legislature, as, 
simply, a ``Fire Fighting Organization,'' the company began its service 
in the spring of 1802, a full 90 years before the first water mains and 
fire hydrants were installed in Milford. A hand drawn hook-and-ladder 
was acquired, and was stored along with other equipment at a building 
owned by Mrs. Angeline Marshall, appropriately, on Water Street.
  In 1915, the department reincorporated as the Milford Fire Company, 
and that same year, there was a 10-day fund drive which raised money to 
purchase a triple combination fire truck Milford's Truck No. 1. A 
second name change followed in 1918, to honor Paris T. Carlisle, a 
Milford resident and member and officer of the Fire Company, who was 
killed in France during World War I. In 1921, the Company broke ground 
to build its first fire station, and in 1923, after another successful 
fundraising drive, Truck No. 2 was purchased and Truck No. 1 refitted 
to better serve the community. Ground was broken for the current fire 
hall on Northwest Front Street in 1977, and as the folks in Milford 
will tell you with well-earned pride, they paid off and burned the 
mortgage in 1990. At about the same time, ambulance service was added.
  From that hall on Front Street, the Carlisle Fire Company responds to 
more than 1,800 calls per year. With an active Ladies Auxiliary, 
founded in 1963 with Peggy Jester as its first president, and a Junior 
Member program, created by then-Chief Marvin Hitch in 1973, the Company 
is truly a center of community life in Milford. And it also has a 
special place in our statewide firefighting community; the Delaware 
Volunteer Firemen's Association (DVFA) was organized in Milford in 
February of 1921, and the first president was Charles E. Varney, who 
was also president of the Carlisle Fire Company. The Company has 
continued its leadership in statewide programs ever since.
  It is my privilege to share some of the history and hopefully some of 
the spirit of the Carlisle Fire Company with my colleagues and with our 
fellow citizens today. We honor the Company's 200th anniversary, and 
the extraordinary commitment and service that it represents, with 
gratitude to local firefighters, our neighbors who are there when we 
need them most. Congratulations to President Francis Morris and Fire 
Chief Kevin Twilley, and to all the officers, members and friends of 
the Carlisle Fire Company again, with great respect and with 
thanks.

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