In 1917, 50 citizens of the hamlet of Stockton petitioned the Chautauqua County Board of Supervisors for the establishment of a Fire District No. 1 in the town of Stockton. The Stockton Volunteer Fire Company was organized in 1921, and Adam Bahm was the first fire chief.
The first piece of equipment was a man-drawn two-wheeled, hand-operated chemical tank, which was stored in the fire chief's blacksmith shop on North Main Street. At the time of a fire, all citizens, including children, were expected to form a bucket brigade from Bear Creek.
In 1924 it was decided they needed better equipment, so a truck was purchased for slightly over $400. This truck had only a pump and hose and carried no water. In case of a fire, a hose was laid to Bear Creek and water was pumped to the fire.
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In 1954 the members of the fire company broke ground at 28 S. Main St. to build their new and current fire station.
In the last few years Stockton has hosted a Snowmobile Drill, Auto Extrications, Downed Hunter Drill, School Bus Rescue Class, Wildland Search and Rescue, NIMS 700/ICS 100, OSHA Training, Propane School, Intro to Fire Officer and Starflight School, in addition to Tuesday night Whistle Check and drills. For the Chautauqua County Ronald J. Keddie Memorial Weekend at Montour Falls Fire Academy, we were able to send 16 people for training.
In 2010 Stockton had the honor of hosting the Firefighters Memorial with the Stockton Community Church. Last year four members went to assist Schoharie County for eight days after Hurricane Irene.
The Junior program was started in 2001. Since then more than 35 Juniors have participated and 16 of them have been retained.
Alongside fire protection and EMS services, Stockton Fire Company members are active in the community as they participate in fire prevention at the Sinclairville Elementary and Cassadaga Elementary Schools along with Home Depot and the Chautauqua County Fair. Stockton members also host the annual "Santa in the Park" and Easter Egg Hunt for the community children, and make time to have a friendly softball competition against the Stockton-Cassadaga Girls. Stockton recently participated in the Smoke Detector Program where we installed smoke detectors in homes in our district for those that qualified and is very involved with the Firemen's Muster held at the Chautauqua County Firemen's Fraternity Grounds in Stockton.