1855 has been first mention of an organized fire fighting organization

in the Borough of Conneautville when the Council purchased a hand pump

fire engine which was found in the Conneautville weekly newspaper, TheCourier and

Record. Like most volunteer fire departments, this organized group of firemen needed equipment which cost money which the borough council either didn't have or didn't want to spend for fire protection. In 1868 the Goodwill Fire Company was formed but disbanded

three years later due to the lack of funds. The Borough of Conneautville since the 1800's

has had three devastating fires which consumed several blocks of the town which were eventually rebuilt. In 1875, after one of the most devastating fires in the Borough, another

fire department was organized with 120 men volunteering. The department was divided into an engine company, hook and ladder company, hose cart company, and a fire police company with each company electing their own officers. This group of men kept the town safe for a number of years but again disbanded on the account of elected official's relations.

In 1882 the Remington Circular Howe Pump horse drawn fire engine was purchased and

used by another group of firemen.

So where does the name Fellows Club VFD come in. In 1923 there was no organized fire department. A group of young protestant Republican business men had formed a social club named the Fellows Club in 1915 that played cards on a weekly basis. The Club was dormant during World War I but was re-established in 1922. In 1923 the Conneautville Borough Council approached this wealth social club in the hopes that they would organize, fund, and operate a fire department. The Fellows Club voted to take on this important responsibility and their charter read, "Purpose of promoting athletic sports and social intercourse by the establishment and maintenance of places, rooms, and facilities for such sports and reading, eating, and sleeping and also the purchase, maintenance and operation of fire engine, hook and ladder, hose cart, and other equipment for fighting fires." The club part of the organization was stronger than the fire part and fire chief's had to beg the club to buy hose and gear but throughout the next several years the club began to diminish and the focus of it became the operation of a fire department.

In 1973 bingo was first began by the department as a means of funding the fire department. The department also began responding to motor vehicle accidents using a Hurst jaws of life which was donated to the department by the Crawford County Commissioners. In 1976 the Fellows Club began operating a basic life support ambulance which was owned by

Meadville Area Ambulance Service, INC and in 1996 began owning and operating the ambulance service which services in six municipalities today. Fire equipment over the past years include a 1920 Reo, 1923 American LaFrance, 1947 Ward LaFrance, 1962 Chevy Howe Pump, 1960 American LaFrance, 1967 Chevy grass truck, 1979 American LaFrance,

1983 American LaFrance, and several vans.

Today Department 8 operates with a 1990 Suptphen Pumper/Tanker, 1994 Pierce Rescue/Pumper, 1992 Ford F-350 and two BLS Ambulances. Around 30 active members respond to over 300 ambulance calls and 100 fire and rescue calls per year. There is approximately 48 square miles in our primary fire district with 3,500 residents.

The Fellows Club Volunteer Fire Department (Late 1920's)

Left to Right: Chaney Miller, Barret Miller, (seated) Clint McCarty, Forest Knapp, Howard P. Decker, Clair Wood, George Seely, and Claud Corey- Fire Chief