For 150 years members of Union Fire Company No. 1 have faithfully served the Oxford area, protecting and saving the lives and property of those residing in the southern Chester County, Pennsylvania community. Services provided include fire and rescue, which today still consist of a completely volunteer staff, and emergency medical services (EMS), which is provided by combined paid and volunteer crews.
The Union Fire Company No. 1 is the fourth oldest company in Chester County and covers approximately 92 square miles of a first due Fire/EMS district. This makes up the largest district for any one company in Chester County. The district is comprised of the Oxford Borough, East Nottingham Township, West Nottingham Township, Elk Township, Lower Oxford Township, and portions of Upper Oxford Township.
The fire company serves the community from two locations; the “midtown station” located in the boro of Oxford and the "Nottingham Station" located in the village of Nottingham. A combined total of nine pieces of fire apparatus and three EMS units are housed at these locations and used in the provision of services.
The Oxford Fire Company became an official organization on February 6, 1871, when about 20 men met in the stockroom of Showalter and Mathews in the Dickey Building, later the Peoples Bank building, and agreed to approve the formation of Oxford Fire Company. The name of the company lasted only a few days as Union Fire Company No. 1 became the official title. The change was made because some of the equipment obtained in Philadelphia came from the city’s Union Fire Company No. 1. The new Oxford Company found it more expedient to change the name of the fire company than to change the name on the equipment. And that name has remained for the last 150 years.