In early 1900, the Town of St. Michaels installed a water system, with 3 hydrants on Main (Talbot) Street and 1 hydrant on Fremont Street. Two hand hose carts were purchased by the town and kept at the pump house on Railroad Avenue. These were no more than a pair of wheels and an axle upon which several hundred feet of 2 and 1/2 inch hose was rolled, much like a garden hose is today. They were either pulled to a fire by hand or behind one of the few cars owned at that time by town residents. Later, the hose carts were housed at "Marshall's Express", a local haulage company located on Fremont Street.

There were always volunteers around to help others in their time of need. Upon arrival at the fire, the amount of water used depended on how close to a hydrant the fire was, whether the water tower was full, and how brave you or your neighbor felt at the time. There was no 911 to call, so you had to depend on someone hearing your calls for help or someone seeing the fire and ringing the Ships’ Bell, which is now located on St. Mary's Square.

If you happened to live outside the town and had a fire, you relied on whatever was handy to try to control the fire. During these years, you made a point of being on good terms with your neighbors, because you never knew when you would have to count on their aid. The most that people could do in those years was to stand by and watch things burn.

The time had come to formally organize a Fire Department. A meeting was held, bylaws were adopted and a President was elected (Dr. L.V. Johnson (the Town Pharmacist)).