The Hartford Fire Department was organized as the Hartford Township Fire Department in 1949, operating a single pumper out of a one-bay fire station on Bennington Chapel Road. The Fire Department moved into the present station on Smith Street in 1958 and added an additional storage room and apparatus bay in 1989. In 1965, the Hartford Township Trustees relinquished operational control of the fire department to the Hartford Volunteer Fire Department, Inc., which is the present organization. Hartford Fire began providing services to Bennington Township soon after its origin.

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Hartford Fire began providing Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in 1959 with the purchase of a Pontiac Ambulance and continues to do so today with an Advanced Life Support (ALS) medic unit. Hartford Fire also maintains and utilizes the following apparatus: 1 Engine, 1 Tanker, 1 4x4 Grass Fighter unit, 1 Polaris Ranger off-road utility vehicle and 1 reserve fire engine.

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The Hartford Fire Department's jurisdiction spans approximately 50 square miles of rural, residential, and commercial/industrial property. The last estimated permanent population was 2,500 residents, with hundreds of additional people per day working in the area's commercial facilities, and thousands more in vehicles passing through. There is no municipal water system so all fire-related emergencies are dependent upon tanker shuttles for fire suppression. Last year, the department responded to 444 calls for service and continues to respond to more emergencies year after year.