A cultural icon of Martinsburg, WV
Dating back to 1823, the history of fire service in Martinsburg, WV can be traced back to the original ladders and buckets purchased by town trustees.
1912
Station built at North Queen & 2nd Street.
Expanded in 1918
1937
Hose Company No. 5 renamed to
Westphal Hose Company No. 5.
1944
Purchase of 1944 Chevy OREN fire truck.
1998
Westphal Hose Company No. 5
purchased 1998 Pierce fire truck for use
by the Martinsburg Fire Department.
1870
Martinsburg Fire Department
Established.
1906
Establishment of five hose companies.
one in each ward of the city.
1979
New state of the art central station is opened.
2001
Acquired and restored original 1944 Chevy OREN.
1870
Martinsburg Fire Department
Established.
1906
Establishment of five hose companies.
one in each ward of the city.
1912
Station built at North Queen & 2nd Street.
Expanded in 1918
1937
Hose Company No. 5 renamed to
Westphal Hose Company No. 5.
1944
Purchase of 1944 Chevy OREN fire truck.
1979
New state of the art central station is opened.
1998
Westphal Hose Company No. 5
purchased 1998 Pierce fire truck for use
by the Martinsburg Fire Department.
2001
Acquired and restored original 1944 Chevy OREN.
Experience our collections
The Westphal Hose Company No. 5 is dedicated to making Berkeley County, WV’s long, rich history visible and accessible to all. This site serves as a space to pay homage to local collective memory, preserving a vast collection of artifacts, photographs, maps, manuscript materials and multi-media as made available by our archive, community veterans of firefighting and the people who donate.
Get to know them
Every town has their legends, lore and heros. Let’s take a deeper look at the founding fathers of local fire fighting and how these individuals impacted the city of Martinsburg, and county.
Take a Look
Equipment
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See the Full Archive
Just browsing? With the biggest archive of firefighting history in West Virginia, we’ve organized our artifacts and digital resources in a fully searchable database.
