The Chili Fire Department was incorporated in 1931 in what was once called Maplegrove or Chapman’s Corners. We now refer to it as Chili Center and the firehouse is the third one to be used as Company One or Headquarters.
The first firehouse was generously a part of Voke’s garage. Voke’s was a four pump gas station and repair shop. It was in operation from 1920-1970. A small strip small replaced it but was destroyed by fire. Some of the seniors may remember the pet store and the talking parrot which was the talk of the town. That fire occurred circa 1981. The property was sold to Wendy’s Restaurant chain. The second firehouse was built on its current property although was two bays.
The third firehouse is the one that currently stands. It was dedicated on September 11, 1966. It has had one addition in 1987 to increase the size of the day room. Contrary to scuttlebutt, the concrete pad in front of the firehouse is not the location of the previous building, but a concrete pad for the 1988 Simon LTI 100′ quint that the department bought in 1988. It weighed about 76,000 pounds and the asphalt started to take a beating as every week it was a firefighter’s job to ensure it worked properly.
