| At 9:00 on a Sunday evening in May of 1910, a chicken brooder became overheated on the porch of a house, which still stands at 418 Gravel Hill Road. This caused a fire in which the residents tried to battle. The fire continued to spread even with their attempt to extinguish. Calls for help were heard around the town. Townspeople came with cans of water to help fight the fire. Eventually, the fire was extinguished. The home suffered damage along with over one hundred chickens. |  |
| The next night an informal meeting was held to discuss the organization of a permanent fire company. Residents attending the meeting donated ladders, rope, hooks, and poles. It was now official, the residents gathered to create a fire community. | |
| The following year on February 27, 1911, the Hope Fire Company Number One of Runnemede, NJ, was incorporated. | |
 |
Things started to happen at a very fast pace
over the next few years. The fire company secured a wagon to carry the equipment
that was donated and purchased by the members themselves. A new building
was built on the Black Horse Pike in 1912.
In 1917 the fire company purchased its first motorized fire truck. It was equipped with two 40 gallon chemical tanks. This started to increase interest in the safety of the community. |
| On March 14, 1922, the Hope Fire Company changed its name to the Runnemede Fire Company #1. The name in which still stands on the building today. | |
| After growing out of the building on the Black Horse Pike. The fire company moved into its present building on Second Avenue in 1960. |  |
Fire Chiefs 1910 to Present
| Patrick Moriarty | 2002 to Present | |
| Alfred F Loverdi | 1998 to 2002 | |
| Thomas DiDiego | 1995 to 1998 | |
| Michael Cox | 1988 to 1994 | |
| David Errickson | 1988 | |
| Daniel Cimini | 1984 to 1988 | |
| Charles Romond Sr. | 1980 to 1984 | |
| Stephen Addezio | 1978 to 1980 | |
| William Dermond | 1976 to 1977 | |
| Daniel Cimini | 1973 to 1975 | |
| Bernard Stella | 1971 to 1972 | |
| John Welker | 1971 | |
| Harry Beeby, Chief Emeritus | 1951 to 1970 | |
| Harliley Bette | 1948 to 1950 | |
| Louis J Porter | 1947 | |
| Clement Clark | 1944 to 1946 | |
| Elmer Fluharty | 1943 | |
| Charles Brookfield | 1942 | |
| Henry Gruber | 1939 to 1942 | |
| George Smith | 1932 to 1938 | |
| Joseph Beidler | 1927 to 1931 | |
| Charles Strater Jr. | 1925 to 1926 | |
| Charles Niesson | 1924 | |
| Charles Strater Jr. | 1919 to 1923 | |
| Edward McGrath | 1918 | |
| Thomas Baizley | 1917 | |
| Ephraim Sharp Jr. | 1913 to 1914 | |
| James Crispin | 1912 | |
| Charles White, First Fire Chief | 1910 to 1911 | |