The Pocomoke City Volunteer Fire Company has known several locations over the years. Our first firehouse, built on Willow St., was itself a victim of the massive fire of 1922. Its replacement was built in the same footprint, but with the era of motorized apparatus, it was quickly outgrown. In 1937, Chief Fred Henderson began a search for a suitable location to build a modern fire station. The site on 5^th St. at the south end of Maple St. was selected, and construction began under the Federal Government’s Work Progress Administration.

With the fire and loss of records, it is hard to put an exact date on some things. Our fire company historian was confident that these photos were taken between 1922 and 1939.

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The state-of-the-art 5^th St. Firehouse was dedicated in September 1939, featuring three large equipment bays, an elegant second-floor banquet hall, and a prominent tower for hanging hose to dry. With the additional space for equipment, the company was able to acquire a combination 500 GPM pumper and ladder truck in the same year.

Since then, the front door has been changed, and the equipment doors have been made taller for larger fire equipment, removing their old arches. In 1939, there were homes on both sides of the firehouse. Over the years, the property has been purchased, and the structures have been removed, allowing more parking space. As fire equipment continued to advance, a large outbuilding was constructed behind the primary firehouse to house additional equipment, including a tower ladder truck.

As time continued to march forward, eventually, it was determined that the 5th St. location could no longer serve the needs of a modern fire company, and in 2008, we moved to our current home at 1410 Market Street. With the move, the fire company took the cornerstone of the 5th St. building for future preservation. Inside was a time capsule, but upon opening, it was discovered that its contents were lost to the elements. 

In 2024, Davis Strategic Development finished a complete renovation of the 5th St. firehouse. The old firehouse has a fresh paint job and is full of new life. It is now home to nine luxurious apartments, has a commercial space on the first floor, and serves as the internet hub for Simple Fiber Internet. To completely restore the building to its original state, DSD requested the building cornerstone and inside bronze plaque from the department. The company agreed to loan the items to DSD to return the building to its original state.

For more information on the history of the PCVFC, visit our history page at http://pocomokefire.com/page/history.

Content courtesy of past PCVFC historians and current PCVFC historian Chip Choquette.