When discussing the history of Slaughter Beach, the origins of the volunteer fire company that protects the homes in the small fishing village is also important. The company has its origins as many small-town fire departments do – with a tragedy.
On October 15, 1954, Hurricane Hazel, one of the worst hurricanes to hit the east coast, severely damaged the beachfront in Slaughter Beach. To date, only the hurricane of September 9, 1935, was more damaging. High winds and torrential rain not only damaged the beach area but left the town of Milford flooded. Water washed over the dune line at Slaughter Beach. But this was not the catalyst for the fire company.
Ten days later, a fire destroyed a dance hall on the beach, managed by Jimmy Wilson. The building was destroyed before Carlisle Fire Company, coming from Milford, could arrive. Residents believed that apparatus should be left at the beach to contain any additional fires until neighboring companies could arrive.
After this tragedy, several local residents, including Lemuel Hitchens, Jr., Conrad Fassel and Richard Caldwell, discussed the possibility of forming a fire company.
A formal organizational meeting for the Slaughter Beach Fire Company was held at the Lighthouse Restaurant. Upon establishing the company, George Cohee was named president; Ben Young, secretary; James Wilson, treasurer and Conrad Fassel, chief. Meetings were held in the homes of the firemen or at the restaurant.
A donation drive raised $300 in 1954 purchased a 1927 American La France pumper from Teddy Walius of Ellendale. Walius, who had been a long-time member of Ellendale Fire Company, purchased the fire truck from Ellendale to water trees on his Christmas tree farm and to destroy bag worms.
There was no place to store the pumper, the first apparatus owned by the fire company, and, in late 1957, the pump froze and cracked. In 1959, Albert “Pop” Sleva removed the pump and dug a hole in the sandy floor of the truck room that had not yet been covered with concrete. Sleva welded the pump and covered it with sand to keep the weld from cracking. He then reinstalled the pump and, Howard Hitchens along with Fassel, towed the truck to Carlisle Fire Company’s Church Street station. There, Oscar Maloney rebuilt the pump and tuned the engine and the truck was driven back to Slaughter Beach.
In order to prevent such an incident from happening again, Edith McKee’s garage was lengthened and the truck stored there along with a GMC pumper which had been purchased in 1942 from Magnolia Fire Company.
From late 1956 to 1958, the fire company grew inactive, and, in September 1958, Edward Evans of Milford convened a meeting at his summer cottage for the purpose of reactivating Slaughter Beach Fire Company. Attending the meeting were Herman Sharp Jr., Pete Manlove, Jr., Dick Caldwell, Connie Fassel, Howard Hitchens, Rich Shockley and Bob Sleva.
The decision was made to name the company “Memorial Volunteer Fire Company” in honor of the World War II veterans who fought for the United States. It was also to honor Howard Wilkins and Donnie Holzmueller who were volunteers in Milford, both dying in service to the country.
The next order of business was the construction of a fire department building. During discussions, it was discovered that Warren Newton of Bridgeville wanted to build a home on the south end of the beach that would encroach on one of the town streets. In exchange for footage for the new cottage, he agreed to donate a beach front lot to the town of Slaughter Beach.
The town council issued a building permit for their first building on January 25, 1957. George Draper offered to donate a lot about a quarter mile west of Bay Avenue where he owned a hotel in exchange for the beachfront lots, but the fire company chose to remain on the water. The company later purchased the Draper lot and it is now known as Fireman’s Park.
The first firemen used a phone system to alert them to fires. The phone calls originated in the home of Junior Hitchens. John Cross, a summer resident, donated a used siren from Claymont which was installed on a wooden tower next to the station in the early 1960s.
Initially, the company could not afford turnout gear so Carlisle Fire Company graciously donated boots and coats. The uniforms worn by the original firemen were also donated by the Carlisle Fire Company.
For many years, Memorial Volunteer Fire Company put on a stunning fireworks show. That has since been discontinued, but many area residents recall traveling to the beach on July 4th to see the fireworks.
