In June of 1870 the Ocean Hook and Ladder Fire Company No 1 was founded. A small ladder cart was purchased the next year, but with the local economy in a recession during the period of 1872 to1873, the purchase of additional equipment for use with the ladder cart and a building to house the apparatus wasn't financially possible. After a few years, the fire department would fade away from lack of a
ctivity and the demise of the Bergen Iron Works. The old ladder cart was left to rot in an open field on First Street and served as a symbol of the first company’s demise. Between 1874 and 1888 the town relied on the good will of its citizens to assist their fellow neighbors in the event of a fire. Although this first group fire fighting activity was short lived, it provided a link to the success of the second attempt of forming a new fire department in late 1888. James Westhall was elected to lead this new group because of his previous experience as an officer with the old Ocean Hook & Ladder Fire Company of Bricksburg. he current Lakewood fire department can trace its origin back to October 31, 1888, when a barn located on the southwest corner of Madison Ave and Second Street caught fire and was destroyed. The ringing of the local church bells were the only means of alarm at the time and word soon spread about a fire down on Madison Ave. Minutes later about two dozen men had gathered and started to battle the flames with a few lengths of hose and a nozzle borrowed from the Laurel house hotel. The hose was connected to a hydrant located on Madison Ave just north of Main Street. When the few lengths were found to be too short to reach the blazing barn, the call to form a bucket brigade and assist the men was given by some one in the crowd of gathered onlookers. After many pails of water were applied what was left of the once blazing barn was contained to just a pile of steaming rubble. The exhausted group of men were proud of the fact that they held the fire to just the one building and decided to retire to James Todd’s store on Main street to get some refreshments and try to warm up their soaked clothing. From this gathering it was decided by the group of men to start a fire company to protect the village of Lakewood and James Westhall was elected as its first Chief. Over the next Thirty two years the Lakewood Department would expand to five volunteer fire companies as the town grew from just a small town village into a major winter resort for the rich and famous. This is Not an official page of the lakewood Fire Dept or engine company #1.
