The Durham Fire Department is unique among other municipal fire departments.

It is one of a small percentage of fire departments throughout the country jointly funded by a municipality and major state university. This situation has been in practice for many decades and has worked to benefit both the Town of Durham and the University of New Hampshire. The funding ratio has varied throughout time starting out at 50/50, evolving to 66% University and 33% Town, back to 50/50 and finally to a three-year average of responses based upon location, presently 53% Town and 47% University. Below is a brief history of the Durham Fire Department.

In the early 1900s the Durham-University of New Hampshire Fire Department was entirely voluntary with no real organization. When the fire alarm sounded anyone so inclined would run to the shed at the rear of Thompson Hall on the University of New Hampshire campus where a hose reel was housed, and hauled it to the vicinity of the fire. A hand drawn trailer with a few ladders stacked on it and a hand drawn chemical tub completed the make-up of the firefighting apparatus. Later, a Reo chemical truck replaced the hand-drawn tub and an International truck was converted to a ladder truck by the Service Department of the University.

On April 1, 1927, thirteen civil-minded members of the community "recognizing the necessity for a properly drilled fire department for the University and Town hereby agree to become members of such a department", that an organized fire department was born in Durham. Two companies were formed, a hose company and a ladder company each with a captain and lieutenant and all men subject to the orders of an elected chief. These men agreed to serve for two years.

After the Town Meeting in March, 1928, an agreement was entered into by the Town and the University, signed by the President of the University and the Board of Selectmen of Durham, approving the establishment of an organized voluntary fire department of two companies of ten men each and the paying jointly of all bills contracted by the department.

In 1931, the first customized piece of fire apparatus, a Seagrave pumper, was purchased and placed into service by the Durham-University of New Hampshire Fire Department. A major step forward was taken on May 7, 1934 when the first permanent firefighter, a man by the name of Ralph Manning, was hired. Mr. Manning had three years experience with the Franklin New Hampshire Fire Department and two years experience with the Nashua, New Hampshire Fire Department.

Durham’s first full-time Fire Chief, Carroll Nash was hired on March 2, 1936. Effective as of September, 1937, a set of "Regulations for the Durham-University of New Hampshire Fire Department" as drawn up by Harold Loveren and Edward Getchell, Board of Fire Engineers, was adopted.

Over the years, the fire apparatus has been housed in various buildings. As stated earlier, the hose reel and chemical hand-tub had been housed in a shed behind Thompson Hall. After World War I, the hose reel, Reo chemical truck and International ladder truck were housed in garages at the rear of DeMeritt Hall. The Army ROTC unit took over this space and the fire equipment was moved to an area located in the Dairy Barns. When this building burned in 1937, the fire equipment was moved to garage space adjacent to Hewitt Hall. In the Fall of 1937, work was started on a fire station located on Colovos Road and part of the Service Building.

In 1941, a Robinson city-service truck built in 1916 and originally used by the Town of Reading, Massachusetts, replaced the International ladder truck. The cost of this truck was $300.00; one half was paid by the Town and one half by the University.

The second permanent firefighter was hired in 1942 and the use of college students as members of the department was discontinued. The Chief and the permanent firefighter were on duty twenty-four hours per day with one day off in seven. At the March 1944 Town meeting, a Board of Fire Commissioners was established. This Board consisted of one man appointed by the Selectmen and one man appointed by the University, with these two to select a third member of the Commission.

Also in 1944, the Board of Fire Commissioners with approval from the Town and University increased the permanent force of the Durham-UNH Fire Department by one member to provide full twenty-four hour coverage and a schedule of hours known as the two-platoon system.
During the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, the fire department struggled to bring its equipment up to suitable standards. In 1944, a 1 ton 1938 Chevrolet was converted to a pumper truck carrying 487 gallons of water with a 90 gallon per minute pump. Oil delivery trucks were converted to fire apparatus and in 1947, a U.S. Government surplus 500 gallon per minute pumper built and used during World war II was purchased from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and placed into service.

The State Fire Marshal conducted an evaluation of fire protection for the community in 1949. In his November 1, 1949 report to the Town and University the State Fire Marshal recommended that most of the existing fire apparatus be replaced with more reliable equipment especially the ladder truck. In 1953, the Robinson city-service truck (built in 1916) was retired and a seventy-five foot Seagrave aerial ladder truck was placed into service.

Another significant recommendation from the State Fire Marshal was for Durham and the University of New Hampshire to "provide an automatic electric fire alarm signal system with proper distribution of fire alarm boxes throughout the town and have the boxes on campus connected by auxiliary circuits to the recommended electric fire alarm signal systems within the building." Although not ever done, all University buildings are protected by an automatic electric fire alarm system as well as most significant buildings located in town.

There is not much recorded historical data on the Durham-UNH Fire Department through the 1960’s. The 1970’s brought about a lot of changes. The Durham-UNH Fire Department was reorganized into four bureaus to include Fire Prevention, Training, Suppression and Communications, with a Captain in charge of each bureau Emergency Medical Services started to play a significant role in fire department operations and the department became known throughout the State of New Hampshire for it’s training innovations. In 1974, a "three platoon" shift system was implemented to reduce the workweek from 72 hours to 56 hours and to increase the on duty shift staffing to four.

The 1980’s brought tremendous turnover of personnel throughout the department. Over 50 permanent members including three fire chiefs came and went. This left the department in a constant state of turmoil. In 1984 the fire station was relocated to the southern end of the UNH Service Building on College Road, where it is located today.

In 1985, the position of fire chief was stabilized by the promotion of Robert P. Wood. The fire department changed to a "four platoon" system in 1986 to reduce the workweek from 56 hours to 42 hours. All department members were required to be Emergency Medical Technicians to improve the services provided to the community. In 1989 the administrative attachment of the fire department was transferred from the University of New Hampshire to the Town of Durham. The Board of Fire Commissioners was eliminated and a 50/50 funding ratio was implemented to reflect incident response.

The 1990s brought great progress and advancement to the Durham Fire Department. In 1991, spearheaded by the Durham Professional Firefighters Local 2253 and implemented by Chief Wood, Emergency Medical Advanced Life Support services were incorporated into the medical services provided by the department while the department adopted an incident command system for emergencies. New, state of the art high-pressure breathing apparatus and lighter weight firefighting clothing improved efficiency and firefighter safety. In 1998, the department created a long-range staffing plan and in 1999 added a full-time Training/Safety Captain to the staff.

The Durham Fire Department moves into the 21st Century with a respect for our changing society and the role we will have in this change. A fifteen-year Strategic Plan was completed which will be our road map into the future. We are conducting long-term planning for personnel, apparatus, training and facilities to meet the increasing demands of the community. Risks presented by the community will be evaluated so we may continue to train and improve our operations. The members of the Durham Fire Department will continue to provide high quality cost effective services to the Durham/UNH community.