Riegelsville - Station 42

After the building burned, several men of the community formed the Phoenix Fire Company. The name came from the first piece of equipment they bought: a Phoenix steam pumper from Allentown; purchased in 1897. From 1897 until 1898 this steam pumper was stored in a carriage factory. Then in 1898 the men of the settlement built a brick firehouse behind the historic Reigel building; opening onto Durham Road. The Reigel family donated the land for this building. Since there weren’t any motorized vehicles, the steam pumper was pulled by two horses, owned by Jacob Kohl, a local baker who lived across the street. In 1915, the Phoenix steam pumper was retired and replaced by the Lafayette; another steam pumper pulled by horses. This apparatus was bough from the Easton Fire Company. At this time, the Phoenix Fire Company still only had one piece of equipment. Then, in the 1920’s, several men from Milford, New Jersey, and Riegelsville, Pennsylvania, formed the Riegelsville Fire Association, transforming the Phoenix Fire Company. In 1928, the borough council being in charge, they were able to raise funds to buy new equipment. The Lafayette steam engine only served the Riegelsville community until the early 1920’s. At this time, motorized fire apparatus became more useful. With the borough’s fundraising they accumulated enough capitals to purchase an American LaFrance pumper in 1928.

As time passed, the community felt the fire company should become incorporated or chartered. Thus, in 1929, the Riegelsville Fire Association was incorporated and became the Community Fire Company #1 of Riegelsville, Pennsylvania. For the following ten years, the fire company was run under the borough council, which had to approve its expenses. As the year passed, the company had to grow to keep up with their increasing response area that now included Easton, Doylestown, Hellertown and even Bloomsburg, New Jersey. With more of a response area they also needed stronger machinery so they sold the American LaFrance pumper in 1946 and replaced it with a Ford/Maxin pumper that could supply larger quantities of water.

The purchase of all the new equipment meant that the firehouse was soon too small to house the fire company. In 1976, a decision was made to move the fire company from Delaware and Durham Roads to 333 Delaware Road, on the crest of the hill where the firehouse is still today. The new building had to be renovated from an old school house which had formerly been a church. A three bay garage was added so that each bay could fit two trucks and there would be additional room for expansion. Having come a long way from the bucket brigades of 1898 to become a fully established, trained and equipped department ready to serve and protect the people and property of Riegelsville, Durham and Nockamixon Townships.