08/28/2026
Hillsboro’s organized volunteer fire service dates to 1888, but the City had begun addressing the danger of fire many years before then. In 1871, the City appointed what was described as a “flu and fire inspector.” Committees were also appointed to prepare a fire and water ordinance and to investigate the cost of constructing a municipal waterworks. Early ordinances authorized inspection of fireplaces, chimneys, flues, stovepipes, boilers, and other sources of heat, and City records from 1871 and 1874 reflect enforcement of fire regulations against frame buildings.
Before 1888, Hillsboro did not yet have an organized company of firefighters. When fires occurred, the community relied upon neighborhood bucket brigades. That changed when Hillsboro erected a water tower near the site of the present fire station, constructed a pumphouse that drew water from the lake in what is now Central Park, and installed water mains leading to hydrants. For the first time, the City had a pressurized water system capable of supplying the hoses and equipment necessary for organized firefighting.
The construction of the City's water system provided the practical foundation for the organization of the Hillsboro Fire Company later that year. The history of Hillsboro’s organized volunteer fire service begins with she story of the 29 men who organized the Hillsboro Fire Company in 1888. Their organization marked the end of Hillsboro’s reliance on neighborhood bucket brigades and the first step in the evolution of the Hillsboro Volunteer Fire Department that serves our community today.
Sources: Bob Bliss, “Fire Company to HVFD, 100 Years,” Montgomery County News, Sept. 1, 1988; Patt Miles, “H.V.F.D. Celebrates 100 Years,” The Hillsboro Journal, Sept. 8, 1988.
Photo credit: Jim May
