The New Hope Fire Department, Inc. provides fire protection services to the residents in the New Hope and surrounding community.
The New Hope Volunteer Fire Department was the first rural unit organized in Gaston County. Two homes were consumed in the New Hope District by fire in the summer of 1953, leaving the occupants homeless and thus the idea of a fire department was born.
The building was erected in 1954 and the first Class "A" pumper was purchased in 1959 at a cost of $14,000. The second pumper was purchased in 1965 at a cost of $19,000 and the automatic radio alarm system was installed in 1961.
The department received its rating from the North Carolina Fire Rating Bureau for a three mile protection radius in 1958 and this was extended in 1963 to a four mile radius.
New Hope has helped organized 15 other volunteer departments in the county.
