Residents in West Cumberland felt a need for quicker emergency services in their neighborhood. In 1942, at no cost to the town, West Cumberland volunteers built their own fire station on donated land on Blackstrap Road and raised money for a truck and resuscitator for near drownings at Forest Lake.
In 1962, they relocated to a one-bay station on Blackstrap Road. At a dramatic 1964 town meeting, the townspeople decided by a one-vote margin to build a new West Cumberland Fire Station from scratch instead of upgrading the old one. The budget committee and town officials had opposed the appropriation because, they said, they did not feel it was absolutely necessary, although Fire Chief Harold M. Bragg noted the majority of the volunteer firemen available during the day lived in the West Cumberland area.
For the $13,500 appropriated, the new station included a heating system, a hard-top driveway, an artesian well, and water that piped into the station. Volunteer work done by the firemen in West Cumberland helped hold down the cost.
