Volunteer fire fighters, organized soon after Sulphur Springs was incorporated (1870), used a "bucket brigade" and hand-drawn equipment to control blazes before the city purchased a steam fire engine in 1888. To summon firemen, this 500-pound brass bell was bought in 1889 and hung in the tower of the engine house. It was replaced in the 1930s by a siren which spread the alarm over a wider area of the growing town. Professional firemen joined the force in the 1940s, but volunteers still help battle major fires.