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Moving - Rockville, Maryland

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Included is a brief history of Rockville, MD, which may be of interest to you.

A Brief History of Rockville, Maryland

It was a bleak, raw February night. The wind-swept streets were as quiet and deserted as only streets in a small community on a dark, cold night can be. Down on East Montgomery Avenue , John Collins ran a store. The Collins Family lived above on the second floor, as many storekeepers did when Rockville was a refuge. Rockville was a summer vacation spot for visitors from the nation's capital.

The town hall, a great barn of a building that stood opposite the Maryland National Bank, was deserted. So was the small shed behind the building, which housed the small hand drawn, two-wheeler and hose that made up Rockville's Fire Department.

Suddenly, where there had been silence, there came a frantic call. "FIRE!" It rang out in the night and split the darkness. John Collins' store was on fire! How it started no one knew. But flames slashed, lanced, mounted and pushed toward the sky.

George Meads the a deputy sheriff in Rockville , was also the Chief of the little fire department. He did as the chief always did to summon the volunteers, walked into the street and fired his pistol in the air. Meads and "dibby" Herbert manned the two-wheeler and the woefully inadequate hose.

The pistol brought the volunteers, the neighbors, and the bucket brigades, but these things weren't enough. For a time, it was believed that the whole block would go despite the valiant efforts of the volunteers and the townspeople. A call went to the District of Columbia for help and the big city sent men and modern equipment. When dawn came the fire was in check. The danger of it spreading to the dry, old buildings in the block had past. But of John Collins' store there was little left except smoking, smoldering ruins.

The next day and for days after, the people of the town thought seriously of what would have happened if help had not of come from below the District line. Bill Burrows operated his barber shop just a few doors from Collins' store and there was a lot of talk in his shop about what ought to be done. Bill went to the town council and ask that a volunteer fire department be formed.

On March 9, 1921 51 men gathered at the office of the Potomac Electric Power Company to form the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department. That night, officers were elected and a committee was appointed to raise funds for the department. The first officers were President Dr. O. M. Linthicum, Vice President C.H. Robertson, Secretary-Treasurer Bache Abert, Engineer W.F. Disney, and Chief Joseph Howes.

William Prettyman was named chairman of the committee designated to canvas house-to-house for funds. By January 1922, RVFD had, through dinners, donations, and a contribution from the county raised $3,800 for a Model T Waterous-Ford.

Only six people were allowed to ride on the Model-T in times of emergency and to prevent an argument, a ring system was developed. The first man to arrive after the siren sounded grabbed the red ring, earning the coveted driver's seat. The second man would grab the blue ring for the next most popular position, the officers seat. The remaining men would grab white rings, signifying riding the back step. The rest would follow in there own cars. Competition never waned.

At the time, fire calls were phoned directly to Chief Wilson's home. It is said that Mrs. Wilson waited until the Chief was heading down the street before she pushed the button that set off the siren. This is because Chief Wilson always grabbed the red ring.

From a modest beginning of 51 men and one pumper, the RVFD has grown to four stations, 200 members, and a fleet of 5 Engines, 3 Ladder Trucks, 1 Heavy Rescue Squad, 2 ALS Medic Units, 6 BLS Ambulances, 2 Brush Trucks, 10 support vehicles, a mobile canteen, and a restored "ceremonial" 1963 Mack Custom built B Model pumper.

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