HISTORY OF ORANGE
Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . William A. Knight
Assistant Chief . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Donald Page
Captain . . . Harold Brown
Lieutenants . . . . . . . . . . . William Achtmeyer, Elbert Scobie
Superintendent of Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Beebe
Secretary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . George Clark
Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John R. Demarest
Executive Committee Fred Hine, John Gardner
After very successful demonstration, a Seagrave pumping engine and a thousand feet of hose were purchased. The abandoned Railroad Station was secured and remodeled to serve as a Fire House. To raise funds, annual carnivals were held. The first carnival, August 25 to 27, netted the Association $2,825. The next year showed a profit of $2,779, and the third carnival, in 1929, made $2,406. Owing to the epidemic of infantile paralysis, no carnival was held in 1931.
Then came the failure of the West Haven Bank & Trust Company, where all the funds were deposited.
In 1931, with the backing of the town, funds were furnished by the Government, the Town, and the Fire Company to purchaser land from the Clark brothers on Orange Center Road, and the present Fire House was constructed as a W.P.A. project. In 1936 additional equipment was purchased, which has made an outfit of which the whole Town is proud. In f act, the members of the Orange Department, with their new apparatus, made such a fine showing that they were awarded the trophy for being the best-appearing company in a parade of the State Firemen's Association.
Chief William A. Knight continued to head the association until 1945, when Christian Winkle succeeded him as Chief. The loyalty of the members, and the alacrity with which they respond to the siren's call, are appreciated by every citizen of the Town. They have done much valiant work. There are now 60 active members and 102 associate members. John R. Demarest was Treasurer for several years and was succeeded in 1945 by Frederick Ross.
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