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Friday, January 27, 2023 5Brooklin Town Crier Brooklin's history includes this little-known fact: The village has had three fire stations in the past century. Tiny Roebuck Street was once a bustling local business hub, what with the Globe Hotel on the Grass Park site and various shops lining the north side. The first fire station was built around 1910 at 4 Roebuck, which was later changed by the Town of Whitby to 2 Roebuck. Despite its small size, it served the community well. Because the station did not have a siren, it was up to local telephone operators to contact firemen whenever they received a report of a fire. Volunteers firefighters Due to an 1857 Whitby Township by-law, fire brigades were made up of volunteer firefighters who, in the beginning, did not have much in the way of leadership. George Vick, a Brooklin insurance salesman, organized the Whitby Township fire department in 1924 and assumed the role of fire chief. Volunteer firemen from Brooklin, Myrtle, Myrtle Station and Ashburn bravely took time away from their paid jobs to fight fires with little more than a one-handed pumper cart and buckets. Eventually a GMC double pumper cart was purchased to replace the one-handed cart. Years later, Whitby Township purchased a GMC King Pumper truck to replace the double cart. But the station was too small to accommodate it so the floor had to be dug out to make room. New site By 1964, the station could no longer meet the needs of the growing community and so fire station #1 was built at 6 Vipond Road. The two-storey building provided space for two trucks and a siren that set local dogs howling whenever it went off. Whitby Township amalgamated with the Town of Whitby in July 1967, merging the fire department with Whitby Fire and Emergency services. It was around this time that the old by-law was changed and firemen were hired full-time. The Vipond Road station was replaced in 2006 by Brooklin's third station at 6745 Baldwin Street North though it wasn't demolished until 2009. Residents Jeff Dinsmore and Harry Agar saved the siren which is displayed at the third station in recognition of Brooklin's volunteer fire department. Meanwhile, the original Roebuck station sat empty for a few years until a Boy Scouts troop temporarily utilized the space to store newspapers, apples and Christmas trees for their drives. The building was purchased by First City Developments and slated for demolition in the early 1980s, however, the company could not get permission to build on the property. Renovated building Brooklin businessman Gary Young bought the building and renovated it, hiring local boys Glenn and Steve Hobbs, Bob Fraser and Stan Hollinshead to remove the rotting lumber. Young installed a new roof and display windows to transform it into a commercial building he has rented to various businesses over the years. Today, Tip Top Creamery leases the building. Although 2 Roebuck has not been designated a heritage site, one of Brooklin's historical landmarks was repurposed and is still being used today. Our three fire stations By Jennifer Hudgins