Philadelphia Steam Engine Fire Co. #1

After a series of bad fires in 1870, Pottstown's Borough Council recognized the need for a local fire company and sent representatives to Philadelphia to buy its first equipment, a hand-drawn pumper apparatus, from Philadelphia Fire Company #18. On January 3, 1871, with the help of local men, Pottstown's first fire company, the Philadelphia Fire Company of Pottstown, was formed. In June 1871, it added a horse-drawn Silsby steam engine apparatus and, at its incorporation on August 21, 1871, became the Philadelphia Steam Engine Fire Company #1, nicknamed the Phillies. Its first firehouse stood on the south side of the 100 block of King Street. On October 5, 1876, members voted to buy the lot at 240 Chestnut Street where the firehouse stands today, and construction began on September 6, 1878. Company members did all of the construction, with T.L. Yergey in charge of masonry and brickwork and Frank Fegley supervising building supplies and furnishing the materials. The approximate cost was $13,000.00, and the dedication ceremony was held on June 12, 1880. The firehouse has undergone only two renovations, one in the 1930s to change the doors for larger equipment and another in the 1940s to move the social quarters from the basement to the second level, replacing the parlor used for meetings. The Phillies have long supported Pottstown's residents and the wider community, volunteering many hours beyond the regular duties of a volunteer fire company.

Pottstown, Pennsylvania · United States