Somersworth Fire Department to celebrate 100 years of service to Hilltop City

SOMERSWORTH — The Somersworth Fire Department is days away from a major milestone, the 100th anniversary of the department moving from volunteer call firefighters to a full-time, professional department with motorized vehicles.

"The city has never had horse-drawn or steam-driven vehicles," said Skip Pepin, the department's designated historian. "The first pieces of apparatus were hand pulled/pushed fire tubs," (in the 1840s-1850s).

Skip Pepin's family has a tradition of firefighting. His father Martin, now a city councilor, served as a firefighter for 32 years, full time and a prior year as a call firefighter. His grandfather and great-grandfather, a brother and a couple of uncles all served as firefighters, some in the city and some in other municipalities.

"I was a call firefighter from 1988 through 1993," said Skip Pepin. "Now I work in dispatch for police and fire."

At one time, the city had five fire stations. Now, they have one brand new, state-of-the-art station on Maple Street.

"We had plans to turn the last one standing on Prospect Street into a memorial," said Fire Lt. James Drakopoulos. "It was in a rough state, but before we could do any work to restore it, someone torched it. It burned to the ground.

Firefighting was a noble profession, even 100 years ago, but it was a far cry from the science it is today.

The notification system was a series of call boxes scattered throughout the city, each with its own number. Skip Pepin said anyone who saw a fire could pull the box.

"Each box had a number, and when the fire horn went off everyone listened," said Skip Pepin. "There was a tone, a series of blasts for each box. The firefighters had to memorize the boxes, had to know which one the call came from. We would hear the fire alarm at our house and everyone got quiet. We would try to identify the call box, and by the time we did, my dad would be in the car and on the way. Sometimes, if a fire was big enough, Berwick would see the smoke and already be on their way, too."

Pepin's mom worked nights, first at a local tannery and then as a dispatcher for the city.

"When mom was working, and there was a fire, we had to go with our father," said Pepin. "We would be dressed and ready to go when the alarms sounded."

"My brother Christopher and I were small, somewhere around 2-4," he said. "We grew up with firefighters."

Fire logs recorded by hand

Fire logs were kept in a book, journals that can still be viewed today at the Summersworth Museum. The first pulled apparatus is also on display there.

In the early days, investigations to determine the cause of a fire were hit and miss," Drakopoulos said.

"Sometimes they never knew why a fire started," said Pepin. "Even in big fires, like the mills. On Sept. 8, 1930, Mill #2 burned, burned so hot it was cracking windows on Main Street. Football-sized embers were seen falling on Elm Street. We do not know why it burned."

First motorized fire truck arrived in 1927

Pepin said the first motorized truck came in 1927, a ladder truck. By then, mutual aid had been established with the neighboring communities of Berwick, Rollinsford, Rochester, and Dover.

"There was no self-contained breathing apparatus," said Drakopoulos. "They gave out rubber coats, metal helmets."

"For me, they handed me a hat, a uniform, and taught me how to make a hitch knot of a hydrant," said Martin Pepin. "I put on a scotch pack and there I went. Arthur Nadeau was fire chief at the time."

Skip Pepin said they lost a lot more firefighters in those days.

The biggest advancements in firefighting have to be in safety equipment and training, said Drakopoulos.

"I was the kid who grew up chasing the fire trucks," said Drakopoulos, a 21-year veteran of the department. "Things have just kept getting better in terms of safety, and that's important. Everything plugs in now, so a new station is a must. Here, we can do everything. We even have special measures built in to address the cancer risk, something we are all very aware of. Despite the risks, I love what I do."

Drakopoulos said there are more fires today. He said much of that comes from the use of technology.

"Everything plugs in," he said. "Not all houses are rated for what people try to do now."

The mantra of a fire department now is training, safety and education.

"There is a lot of training now before anyone ever touches a fire," said Martin Pepin. "And there is a lot more technology, more things to keep firefighters safe. Knowing what to do before you go to a fire makes a big difference. Things can go bad very fast."

Martin Pepin retired in 2005, and he said he still misses it.

"I still love the fire department," he said. "One of the hardest things I ever did was to walk out that door for the last time. I knew it was time, but my heart wanted to stay."

The department is in the process of planning a special celebration to mark the anniversary. Drakopoulos said they are trying to find as many past members as possible. He said they have located and reached out to some, but they urge anyone else to contact the fire station by email to Rachel Jalbert at rjalbert@somersworthnh.gov or by phone at 603-692-3456.