When the insurance adjuster came after the big fire of February 13, 1916, he recommended to the town board that they purchase a chemical cart which would put out seventy-five percent of the average fires.

The town board did not act on this recommendation until May 6, 1919 when they purchased the first piece of fire fighting equipment for the town of Selbyville. This was three years after the business section at the corner of Main and Church streets was completely destroyed by fire. This purchase consisted of a two-wheel cart with forty-five gallon chemical tanks, hose, nozzles and a fire bell. It had a tongue and was pulled to and from the fires. It was an interesting spectacle to watch our local men pulling this cart up and down the streets.

The two chemical tanks were operated by two individual hand pumps somewhat like a water pump. This piece of equipment cost approximately $300 and was owned and operated by the town board. Mr. Charles J. Baker was in charge of operations until February 28, 1920 when David Hollingsworth was elected Fire Chief by the town board. This board hired Mr. Robert Hill and Mr. Johnny Daisey to build a small fire house on east Church Street near the barn of W.R. McCabe or about where J. Conn Scott's Furniture Store now stands. This equipment was used until 1923, the year that the town installed a water system.

On January 6, 1923, the young men of the town saw the need for better fighting equipment so a small group of them had a meeting and organized the first "Selbyville Volunteer Fire Company." Many of these men were World War I veterans and had previous fire fighting experiences while in the army maintained fire departments.

The first officers of the company were John A. Tubbs, president; Armel Hudson, fire chief; Spencer Tunnel, secretary and treasurer Will Burch. They bought some hose and nozzles but did not have any way to carry them around. The Georgetown Fire Company, who was fortunate enough to get a new truck heard of the need and Mr. Ollie Farlow of the above company gave our fire company an old two wheel hose cart on which the hose could be loaded and pulled or towed to a fire.

By this time they said the old chemical cart was a thing of the past and disposed of it and also sold the first fire house to Mr. Joshua Murray. He moved it to his home on main street and was still using it as a one car garage until the time of his death.

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