By 1867, the Fire Company purchased a hand operated engine.   This hand-drawn piece of apparatus was used until 1872 and is now housed at the Denver Firefighter's Museum.   Large black rubber hoses were attached to one end of the engine and were then placed in a water source such as a creek or cistern.   Ten men would stand on either side and raise and lower two wooden bars which caused the pump to pull water into the engine through the hoses and onto the fire.   The men worked hard to create enough pressure to force the water through approximately 100 feet of hose.

In December of 1880, a fire ordinance was passed which provided for the appointment of one Fire Marshal, two Engineers, two Stokers, two Captains, six Drivers, six horsemen, four ladder-men, and seven Janitors.   Each position now earned a salary.   This ordinance ushered in the era of paid firefighters and horse drawn fire apparatus.

In 1909 the Denver Fire Department purchased its first gasoline powered fire engines, which is the same year that the original fire station #1 was demolished and firefighters moved into the new fire station #1, now the Denver Firefighters Museum. Over the next decades the Denver Fire Department, as well as the entire city, grew.   By 1924 the entire fire department was motorized and horses were no longer used to pull fire engines.   By 1946, there were 22 fire stations.   Today, there are over 30 stations.