Pelham Fire Department
Fire Department History
Station One (Fonthill)
In the winter of 1921 the Fonhtill Public School caught fire. After the local townspeople fougt flames ineffectively for a while the Welland Fire Department was called in, and through combined efforts the school was saved. Council realised Fonthill need a fire department. They purchased a hand-drawn, twin tank chemical engine and a one-car garage, which was moved onto the property owned by the Imperial Bank at the "Corners" and leased to the village for $1.00 for 99 years. A fire alarm bell was mounted on the flag staff in the adjacent village square and the Fire Department was in operation.
Fonthill's household water supply used to be a pair of pumps along Canboro Road. In 1923 the waterworks system was installed, so water-using fire equipment was need. The village borrowed a hand-drawn hose cart from Thorold and purchased 1000' of fire hose. In 1927 the fire service purchased a Model T Ford Fire Truck, in use until 1939. The Fire Department still maintains this fire truck today and it can be seen in the local parades.
The Fire Department now needed a larger accomodation and the next fire hall was located on the lower level of a newly constructed two story brick building, standing where now Pelham Town Square connects with Pelham Street. This was also the Municipal Buildling. That same year, a Bickle-Seagrave pumper on a new Ford chassis was presented to the firefighters.
In 1952 the department was enlarged from 20 to 30 firefighters to provide better daytime fire protection, but this also meant they needed a bigger hall. The village council was approached but due to financial commitments they could not comply, so the firefighters decided to build their own hall. In October 1953 the new hall was opened at 1400 Pelham Street. This building still exists today and houses various small businesses.
In 1955 the 1939 Ford fire truck was replaced with a 1955 International 500 gpm pumper. In 1958 the firefighters were able to place an addition onto the existing hall. In 1969 a tanker truck and a new pumper were added to the fleet.
The Fonthill firefighters moved into their current building at 177 Highway 20 West in 1982.
Station Two (Fenwick)
In 1917, the merchants of Fenwick pooled together to purchase the village's first fire pump. The Fenwick Fire Department was formed. The hand pump was operated by eight men (four on each side of a double handle), mounted on a wagon, and drawn to fires by any available motor vehicle. The fire hall was behind the building that now houses the Model Railway Club on Maple Street.
Around 1921, the pump was replaced by a twin tank chemical apparatus (soda-acid), which was also drawn to fires by motor vehicle. The first self-propelled fire truck was bought around 1925: a used 1921 GMC pumper purchased from St. Catharines. In 1941 this pumper was replaced by a Fargo pumper with a 300 gpm pump. In 1958, a fully-equipped GMC pumper with a 500 gpm pump and a water tank truck were acquired.
The first hall was behind the present Model Railroad Club on Maple Street. In 1946 a new hall was built at 781 Canboro Road. 
This building now houses the Maple Acre library. With the arrival of the last pumper, more space was needed and a new hall was built at 792 Welland Avenue with mostly voluntary labour and numerous donations. The hall was officially opened September 17, 1960.
In 1970 the regional government combined Fonthill and Fenwick and the previously separate fire departments became Stations One and Two.
The Fenwick firefighters moved into their current location at 766 Welland Ave. in 2011.
Station Three (Short Hills Fire & Rescue)
Station Three is the youngest of all three Pelham halls. They officially opened at their current location on 597 Sixteen Road on July 1st 2001, after a longstanding mutual aid agreement with the City of Thorold expired. Previously North Pelham had been served from the St. John's fire hall on Holland Road, which is now closed. The building is the former Rose Brothers auto body shop.