In 1869, the town of Dover purchased “40 fire buckets, six ladders, and four fire hooks for the use of the Town in case of a fire.” In 1869, the Town purchased a hook and ladder apparatus “at a cost not to exceed $260.” The purchase was made and the truck brought to Dover on December 23, 1869. Two bad fires, the Wilmington Conference Academy (now Wesley Junior College) in 1876 and the Capitol Hotel (now offices on State Street) in 1879 started a demand by the citizens for a fire company. The Town owned the hook and ladder truck purchased in 1830 and the hand pumper, now displayed in the Delaware State Museum in Dover.