The following is taken from the book The Unheralded Heroes of Baltimore's
Big Blazes.
On August 27, 1898, on orders of the Chief Engineer Engine Co. No. 10 (Editor's note - Baltimore City Engine Co. 10) responded to Camden Station and boarded a special car of the B&O Railroad to assist the firemen in Laurel Md. They arrived in one hour. Being impossible to disembark the horses from the railway cars, the men were compelled to draw the hose wagon and steam engine to the desired location. Probationary Pipeman Charles L. Franke was stationed at the pole of the steam engine when he stumbled and fell under the wheels which passed over his head causing instant death. He was 29 years of age with 44 days in the service.
After the big fire on Main Street, which destroyed twelve buildings and the Presbyterian church, a movement to organize the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department took shape. Led by citizens concerned about their community, they met to formulate the groundwork and make plans for Laurel's fire department.
After the constitution and by-laws were drawn up, a second meeting was called on July 9th, 1902 to establish companies. The citizens' group was headed by Albin Fairall, with D. M. Fisher, Harry McCullough and James Federline as co-workers. Rules and regulations were drawn up to provide companies, one in each of the wards of the town, No. 1 ,No. 2, and No. 3. On October 13th 1902, the Laurel Volunteer Fire Department was duly recognized as a full fledged fire department. Our first chief was David M. Fisher.
Company No. 1 had a horse-drawn ladder (Truck Company "A") and bucket wagon. When the siren blew, the horse was sent to the fire house from the Laurel Cotton Duck Mill, which was located on the present site of the city swimming pool. These were the firefighting methods the old timers endured, and in spite of these handicaps, they did a good job for their community.
All through the years, the three companies had their ups and downs which eventually caused Companies No. 2 and No. 3 to become discouraged and disband. This meant that Company No. 1 was left to carry on the work of the whole town. There were times when our company was down to a mere dozen men, who had to finance the renting and heating of their building out of their own pockets to keep the company operating.
After the hand- and horse-drawn vehicles came our first motorized piece of equipment, a 1924 Model T Ford hose wagon. In 1928, the Mayor and City Council purchased a 1,000 GPM American LaFrance pumper by means of a bond issue. This pumper, called "Old Liz", still runs and is on display in its own room here at the station. In 1932, we purchased a 350 GPM Brockway pumper. In 1941, the company purchased an Oren pumper on a Diamond "T" chassis. In 1946, we purchased a 1,000 p.s.i. high pressure John Bean pumper (the second one in the county). In 1954, the mayor and city council purchased an 85 foot American LaFrance ladder truck through a bond issue.
A long-term goal was achieved in 1954 when we moved into our station on the northwest corner of 9th and Montgomery streets. This station was the pride of every member and became a valuable asset to the whole community. On July 28, 1989, we broke ground for a new and more modern firehouse. This building, our current station, is located on the southwest corner of the intersections of Cherry Lane and Van Dusen Road. The design of this new station was very teamwork oriented using the talents of many volunteer members of the LVFD. Along with us, the design team consisted of county fire officials in consultation with the architect firm. On October 26th, 1990, operations were relocated from 901 Montgomery Street to 7411 Cherry Lane.