Charter Oak Hose Company No.5

Hose Company No. 5 of the South Manchester Fire Department has a short but interesting history. At the 1897 organizational meetings of the Fire District, four fire companies were proposed. Residents of the Charter Oak Street area felt they should have better fire protection and petitioned the District to add a fifth company. George Day, James Burke, Arthur Hale and Frank Tryon were named to organize Company No. 5 and find a suitable shelter for the equipment.

Company No. 5 was the last company to organize. At a meeting on June 11, 1898, Frank Tryon was elected Foreman, William Burke was elected First Assistant Foreman and Arthur D. Hale was elected Secretary and Treasurer. George F. Day, who owned a General Store and Livery Stable on Charter Oak Street, offered the use of one of his sheds for storage of the hose reel and the use of a horse and wagon. The early meetings were held in Day's store.

In addition to the Officers, charter members of Company No. 5 were: Harry M. Burke Leo Burke, James M. Burke, George F. Day, Olin Day, Charles H. Keeney, Andrew Gordon, John Gordon, William Adams, Frank Montie, William Cushman, Fred Risley, Wayland Straughn, William J. Dougan, C. G. Gustafson and Patrick Clune.

Hose Company No. 5 functioned well with the other fire companies until 1904, at which time, discussions were begun to consolidate Company No. 5 with Company No. 4 on School Street. A committee was appointed to review the proposition consisting of W. C. Cheney, F. E. Watkins and Assistant Chief Hickey. In February 1905, consolidation was approved and all of Company No. 5's property was turned over to Company No. 4. The names of Company No. 5 member were added to the membership roster of Company No. 4 and the Company was dissolved.

Engine Company No. 5 was out of existence for over seventy years. In October 1976, firefighters began staffing a new Station No. 5 in the Buckland section of Manchester. The piece of apparatus assigned to this station was a 1959 American LaFrance 1000 G.P.M. Pumper which had previously been used as the Department's tanker because of it 750 gallon tank capacity.

When the new station was constructed, it was located in an area under jurisdiction of the South Manchester Fire Department, but serviced for many years by the Manchester Fire Department under an old agreement. A court battle over jurisdiction followed and resulted in the responsibility for the area's fire protection being awarded to the Manchester Fire Department. The South Manchester Fire Department was left with Station No. 5 in an area it no longer serviced. Firefighters responded to areas to the east and west, but were unable to service the area surrounding their building.

This situation continued until 1990, when the station was vacated by the South Manchester Fire Department as a result of and agreement with the Eighth Utilities District of Manchester. During the time firefighters of Engine Company No. 5 were waiting for construction of their new, more strategically located station, they operated out of a temporary station on Tolland Turnpike. While in this station, the 1959 American LaFrance pumper was replaced with a 1990 American LaFrance Water Chief. The apparatus consists of a 1500 G.P.M. dual stage pump with a rear mounted 75' Aerial Ladder and 500 gallons of water. This piece served as Engine No. 5, until December 23rd 1999 when Engine No. 5 was replaced with vehicle #711, formerly Engine No. # 1, a 1991 American LaFrance 1500 G.P.M. pumper with a 500 gallon water tank.

The new Station No. 5 on Tolland Turnpike was dedicated on July 25, 1991, and is currently responsible for fire protection in the northeast section of Manchester.

On February 2, 2003 Medic 5 was permanently assigned to Fire Station #5 as primary ALS provider for Station #5's first due area as well as primary ALS provider into the 8th Utilities District. Also on this date 4 Lieutants where assigned bringing the number of personnel assigned to Fire Station #5 to 16, (Four per shift).