Rhode Island State Institutions Property
Little is known about this fire company. It probably was not a volunteer company in the traditional sense, and likely manned by inmates and officers at the state institutions.
The state institutions in Cranston occupied the Howard area near present-day Garden City. (Where the name “Howard” comes from is unknown.) The grounds included the Sockanosset School for wayward youths, state hospitals, and Institute of Mental Health, as well as the state correctional institutions.
It is known that the Howard area had at least one fire fighting apparatus based on an 1891 newspaper article about a fire there.
In 1925 an American LaFrance Type 75 pumper was purchased by the state and put into service. This pumper has survived, and is presently on display at the Jamestown (R.I.) Fire Museum.
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Howard Fire Company
