The historic "Niagara" hand pumper, an apparatus that was crucial to the community's early fire safety efforts, was honored by the Champlain Fire District in May. In August 1873, local business people bought the 1858 hand pumper from Niagara Hose Company No. 3 of St. Albans, Vermont, and subsequently gave it to the Village of Champlain. Later that year, the Champlain Fire Department was formally established thanks in part to the donation. In recognition of the apparatus, the department changed its name to Niagara Hose Company No. 1. The pumper, which was kept at Niagara Hall on Cedar Street, came to represent the village's early dedication to organized fire safety and volunteer work.