Neptune Hose Company #5 was organized on September 23, 
1907, with a two-wheel hand-drawn hose carriage. Andrew H. 
McNeal, owner of the McNeal foundry in East Burlington (now 
known as U.S. Pipe) felt the need for fire protection at the East end 
of town. He donated land for the Company’s first building, “for the 
purpose of giving East Burlington its first defense from fire”, and 
many of the Company’s first members were employees of his 
foundry.

In 1916, the Company purchased a 1-ton Ford Model T truck for 
$599, which was made into a hose wagon. In 1929, the Company’s 
metal alarm gong was replaced with a siren- the second siren in the 
City. Three years later, City Council purchased a 1932 American La 
France pumper for the Company, equipped with a “fire foam 
system.” Fifteen years later, a 1947 Ward La France pumper was 
purchased by the Council.

On February 4, 1970, the Company took delivery of a Ward La 
France 1500 GPM pumper with an automatic foam system. The 
largest-capacity pumper in the County at that time, the new pumper 
was nicknamed “Super Pumper.”