The residents accumulated enough cash to purchase a two-wheel reel holding 500 feet of hose. It was pulled by hand.

Mr. Borton had a small firehouse built to house the cart on Howarth Avenue.

The apparatus had no pump. Water pressure was supplied by the few fire hydrants in the town. Only one stream of water could be played on a fire at a time, since the equipment included just one nozzle.

After about two years of using the hose cart, The Middletown Firemen bought their first motorized apparatus in 1922. (No picture available at this time). It was a Ford Fire Engine with a 350 gallon per minute (GPM) pump.

Soon afterwards, the residents began work on a firehouse at Bortondale Road and Oak Avenue (Levis Avenue). The volunteers did almost all the construction themselves, working day after day in three teams. The job was finished in 1925.

In 1926, The Middletown Fire Company replaced its engine with a Reo Pumper (shown below). This carried a 350 GPM pump. This truck served the community until 1942.