Members of the Sanford Fire Department, called the Alert Company, purchased in 1906 a horse to haul one of their wagons, the town being unwilling to provide the funds. This is probably the horse. The town did buy two horses the following year and a third later but they were able for general town use. If a fire occured while the horses were being used elsewhere, they had to be driven back to the firehouse and hitched to the apparatus! The first automobile fire engine was not purchased until 1915. This photograph was taken in front of the old wooden firehouse on Mechanic Street, a street that disappeared with urban renweal but ran parallel to Main Street from Washington to St. Ignatius Streets.