Rainbow Fire Company No. 1, Since 1773

The Rainbow Fire Company No. 1, part of the Reading (PA) Fire Department, claims to be the oldest volunteer fire company in the U.S., well I Googled and I Googled and I Googled some more and that question I can not find an answer to. Until last May when I was in Reading on business and happened to have parked across Court Street from the firehouse I had never heard of the Rainbow Fire Company. But the fact that they have been in continuous operation since they were formed on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1773, says that they are probably older than 99% of all fire departments in the U.S. and very well could be the oldest. Like I said I could not find out much about the RFC#1 except that they got their first fire engine, a hand drawn pumper made by Lyons of Philadelphia, in 1820 and that they have been on the corner of 8th and Court Street since 1870. Whether they are or are not the oldest volunteer fire company in the U.S. I say congratulations brothers on protecting your community for 234 years. We'll see you on the big one.