In many ways, the Scarborough Fire Department is still a small-town operation, relying on volunteers dispatched from neighborhood stations to help provide public safety coverage.

With only 24 full-time firefighters, Fire Chief Mike Thurlow said it’s important for the community to understand that in four of the town’s six fire stations, “we still rely on volunteers to respond 24/7/365.”

One of those volunteer companies, the Black Point Hose Co., is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and Thurlow said he couldn’t be prouder of the call company members who give up their time in service to their fellow townspeople.

Although the town still relies heavily on its call companies, which are also located in Pleasant Hill, Pine Point and North Scarborough, Capt. Joe Carroll said his Black Point company only has about 10 active members, backed up by five students enrolled in a firefighting course at Southern Maine Community College, who live at the station.

He is hoping that a community day on Oct. 24, designed to celebrate the Black Point Hose Co.’s 100th, will entice people to sign up for call company duty.

The community day, at the First Congregational Church, will include a firemen’s muster, fire prevention activities, a barbecue and more.

The Black Point Hose Co. was organized on Dec. 7, 1915, at the request of Fred Newcomb. The company originally operated out of the stable at the parsonage of the First Congregational Church and the church bell was rung as a “method of alarm,” according to historical documents.

The Black Point Hose Co. started with 750 feet of hose, a used fire wagon and waterproof coats and boots. That’s a far cry from today’s modern-day firefighting equipment, which includes a ladder truck and engine housed at the Black Point station.

Even so, Carroll, who’s been with the call company for the past 14 years, said firefighters today would be hard put to get water on a fire in less than 8 minutes, which is what the company men did during their first drill in April 1916.

Historical documents say the first actual fire fought by the Black Point Hose Co. wasn’t until May 1917, when the home of Eugene Durgin caught fire.

Unfortunately, it was during that fire that the company’s lack of “ladders, rubber boots, lanterns, helmets, spanners and hydrant winches was evident,” documents from the time state.

Carroll said, in the town’s early days, a fire company was created whenever there was a need, which led to seven stations being established in neighborhoods all across town. The only original station not still operating is the one at Prouts Neck.

He also said that originally each firehouse had its own chief and they were all operated independently, including fundraising for equipment. In fact, Scarborough did not have a full-time fire chief until 1973.

Carroll is a full-time firefighter in the city of Westbrook, but says he still manages to give about 60 hours a week of his time to the Black Point call company. He does it to give back to the community, as well as for the “pride and camaraderie.”

In addition, the Scarborough Fire Department helped him to get his career started and, he said, “I have a lot of friends here.”

He is a fourth-generation firefighter and said that at one point, every member of his family was somehow involved in the fire service, from firefighting to the auxiliary.

Carroll has “no doubt that all my little nephews” will also end up as firefighters, too.

He said the Black Point station’s first response district runs from the railroad trestle on Black Point Road to Ocean Avenue in Higgins Beach. If needed, firefighters could also respond to the South Portland line or up to the Nonesuch River.

“Our total coverage area encompasses about a third of the town,” Carroll said.

There is “definitely a rich heritage” of firefighting in the Black Point area, he said, especially as the company has often responded to big fires, particularly at Prouts Neck.

In addition, the town’s first fire dispatching service was run from Newcomb’s Store in Black Point. For nearly 30 years from the late 1940s to the early 1970s, fire calls were made out of the store, which was manned around the clock just for that purpose.

Overall, Carroll said, “we’re a very proud group and we hope people will understand and appreciate this significant milestone.”

Joe Pallotta, the former captain of the Black Point Hose Co., couldn’t agree more. He said he’s been a member of the call company for more than 30 years.

“I just love to do it,” he said.

Thurlow, the fire chief, said the call companies in Scarborough have a long and distinguished history of “taking care of their own” and noted “there are still active members who remember the days before a formally organized municipal fire department was established.”

He said it’s important to mark the 100th anniversary of the Black Point Hose Co. to honor its longtime commitment to serving the town and because the “volunteers (we rely on) to respond to calls to help their neighbors are, in many respects, very similar to (those from) 100 years ago.”

He said that marking the 100th anniversary gives the fire department a chance to show the community how far it’s come, while also raising awareness about opportunities to volunteer.

In all, he’s “extremely proud” of the firefighters who volunteer their time to cover the town’s various fire stations.

“This coming February, I will complete my 40th year of service and I’ve had the pleasure of working with hundreds of wonderful individuals over that time,” Thurlow said.

He added, “It is our people that make the difference. It takes well-trained, dedicated, selfless people to fight fires and provide emergency medical services, and we have some of the best in the business.”

The Black Point Hose Co., one of Scarborough’s volunteer firefighting companies, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. From left are Tucker Holt, a firefighting student living at the Black Point station, Capt. Joe Carroll and firefighter Joe Pallotta.Staff photo by Kate Irish Collins