Amidst the growing and expanding community of Brookline, five civic-minded individuals realized the need for better fire protection. On October 9 1914, after the meeting of the Brookline Improvement Association, a 7-minute meeting was held to form the Brookline Fire Company. This meeting took place at 412 Allston Road at the home of Paul A. Embick, today it is 1107 Allston Road. In November 1914, a charter was obtained from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, designating this new organization as “The Brookline Fire Company”. Thus began out 75+ years of continuous service to the community.

On January 12, 1915, the fire company purchased 800’ of 2.5” hose for $.38 a foot ($304). Also, on that date, the fire company began to look for land to build a firehouse.

The Lansdowne Fire Company offered the use of a Spider, a hose cart drawn by six men, until the fire company could purchase its own. The Spider was kept at 118 Boulevard in Brookline, the home of Edward Bryant. This was considered the first firehouse of the fire company. A Spider was purchased from the Darby Fire Company on April 5, 1915 for $75.00, this was kept in the garage of William Brown only to be moved to E. Bryant’s home at a later date. It was also on April 5 that the fire company bought lots five and six of block three in Brookline to build the current firehouse.

Prior to April 5, the fire company met at the homes of its members, they would now meet at the Brookline Square Club at a cost of $1.00 a month. The Brookline Square Club was located on the site of the current Haverford Senior High School.

On March 10, 1915 at 4:30 in the afternoon, an alarm was turned in. On Kathmere Road a tree was burning, endangering nearby dwellings. A gong was sounded calling the men to their first alarm. The men responded to the firehouse, the Spider was drawn to the location, and the "Blazing Chestnut Tree" was extinguished.

At 7:30 that evening, our second alarm was turned in. It was the same fire, same tree, in the same location. This time the job was completed.

A steam whistle was mounted on the Philadelphia and Western Railroad power station at Beechwood, to be used to indicate the location of the fire.

On September 16, 1916, ground was broken on lots five and six in block three for the firehouse. The new building was to be two stories high and constructed of stone. The second floor was to be used as a hall, and rented out for additional income. On the first floor, the left side was used to house the fire apparatus, and the right side was to be rented to a tailor for $10.00 a month rent. The cost of the building that was built by Joseph Schule was $7500. The first meeting in the new firehouse was on April 6, 1917.

On April 18, 1918, the first motorized fire apparatus was delivered at a cost of $1,725. The truck was built by Hale Pump on a Simplex chassis with a Hale Pump. The old Spider was sold for $100 and the crew heaved a big sigh of relief, for it took a crew to pull the Spider and another crew to extinguish the fire.

The first electric siren was installed in December 1919. This new alarm system replaced the outmoded fire alarms, which consisted of Hoop-Hammer and steam whistle of the P & W line. The "New" system was supplemented in 1940 by a system whereby bells were place in each crew member's home. The unique home-alarm system was designed by Chief Perry Craig. Today, members are notified of a fire call by a system of electronic pagers.

In May 1923, the fire company purchased a Howe Ford chemical truck for the sum of $1500. The company now had two modern pieces of fire fighting apparatus. Two years later a 750 gallon per minute American LaFrance pumper was purchased for $12,000, and the 1918 Hale Pumper was sold to the Bon Air Fire Company for about $700.

The first township ladder truck was bought in 1930 and was awarded to the Brookline Fire Company. It was an American LaFrance City Service ladder truck. A resuscitator was added to the new "Mack" 500 gpm pumper in 1948. Brookline could now respond to oxygen calls, thus providing another valuable service to the community and another "first" for the fire company.

In 1950, a Maxim Aerial ladder truck was purchased to replace the old City Service ladder truck. A new addition had to be added to the firehouse to accommodate the new ladder truck. A Pirsch 1000 gpm pumper, with built-in foam system, was delivered in 1954 to replace the 1925 American LaFrance pumper.

The Brookline Fire Company started its ladder drill team in 1956. Every man was a perfectionist in the art of ladder training. They instructed state, county, and regular fire company drills, along with additional demonstrations to other fire companies. In the summer of 1958, the fire company took delivery of a new Maxim 750 gpm pumper. This was the first pumper in the township to have preconnected attack lines in it. Ten years later in 1969, the fire company received a new Maxim International ladder truck.

In 1975, Brookline house a 1975 Pierce 1250 pgm pumper which would later earn the title “workhorse of the township”. The crew club room was dedicated in the same year. The year 1979 saw the arrival of a Seagrave foam unit, then in 1985 the fire company purchased a Pierce 1000 gpm pumper to act as a foam tender for the foam unit. Thus the fire company’s Foam Task Force was put in service. The latest piece of fire fighting apparatus arrived in 1987, a Pierce 105’ aerial truck, nicknamed the U.S.S. Brookline.

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