The Community Fire Company of Rising Sun, Incorporated, is said to have been "Born of Ashes" during the summer of 1921. On June 13, 1921, a fire erupted from ignited gasoline vapors in an alley between a Methodist church and a storage garage while a gasoline tank truck was filling an underground tank. The fire involved the tank truck and the nearby buildings in town, spreading beyond control by the time Rising Sun's apparatus arrived to the scene, among them a hose cart, chemical extinguishers, and two wheeled 40 gallon extinguishers. The town fathers realized the inadequacy of their equipment and called for assistance from Oxford, Elkton, Perry Point, Havre de Grace, Fame and Water Witch of Wilmington, Port Deposit, Kennett Square, West Grove, and Newark. In four hours' time, the fire was under control, but Oxford returned near 11pm to douse embers stirred by high winds.

Within a week of the immense fire, the resulting helplessness prompted townsmen to gather themselves into what was to become the town's organized fire department. Sixty-eight men initially volunteered to join the company. On June 23, an organizational meeting resulted in five administrative officials and 12 directors being elected, and the By-laws and Rules committee arranged. The Community Fire Company of Rising Sun, Incorporated was officially born on August 4, 1921.