In May 1893, another block fire raged on Rocklin’s Front Street, destroying 25 businesses and taking the life of chambermaid Alice Irish. That same year, the City of Rocklin was incorporated, and a foremost need for the new city was fire protection and a building to serve as city hall and firehouse. The building was completed the following year on property provided by the Southern Pacific Railroad. Rocklin’s city trustees shared the office area with the city marshal and a small library, but the building was best known as the firehouse and as the home for the fire hose carts. Volunteer firefighters of the Rocklin Hose Company attached hoses to hydrants to put out fires. As the city grew, the original structure became too small to meet its needs, and it was vacated and demolished circa 1944.