HISTORY
OF THE
ANSWERING
THE ALARM
SINCE
1947
The first known action by anyone was
taken in the year 1898, by a group of Township residents.
They met at the home of Adam Braun and
organized a volunteer fire department.
They built a two wheel cart and
mounted a fifty gallon cylinder tank to the cart.
The cart was equipped with a hand
pump, buckets, and fifty foot of hose no bigger than a modern garden hose.
The new fire cart was housed in the
rear of Kreiling’s Saloon.
This was the beginnings of the current
Fairfield Township Fire Department.
The next recorded history is in 1922
when a group of residents known as the Rosedale Improvement Association
procured ten fire extinguishers.
They were installed in every third
house in the subdivision.
This system served until 1945 when the
need for more adequate fire protection could no longer be ignored.
This was due to a fire in October of
1944 on
The
Volunteers paid an initiation fee of
$10 to the association and served without pay.
With donated material and men from the
association working together, the first fire station was built on the corner of
In 1946 the volunteers had a fire
house for their newly acquired truck.
The truck was a 1930 Model A Ford, which was refurbished by Fred Mullins
and Ralph Kearney.
It carried 1500 gallons of water. Many times the volunteers themselves paid for
the oil and gas for the truck.
Ralph Kearney was appointed Chief of the
Department.
Fred Mullins and Garth Day were
appointed Assistant Chief of the Department.
In June of 1947 it became apparent
that this small organization could not provide adequate protection for the
entire township.
A meeting was called by Harold Linz to
discuss the possibility of passing a bond issue to fund a township fire
department.
The trustees being John McGreevy, Carl
Schiering, and A.B. McCormick agreed to
place the issue on the ballot that November.
The bond issued passed by an
overwhelming majority.
In 1948 a 500 gallon International
Fire Truck was purchased by the township and housed in a new fire house built
on
Figure 1 - 1947 International Pumper
This fire house is still in use today.
The trustees appointed Fred Mullins as
the first Fire Chief of the township.
The township has only had seven fire
chiefs since 1948.
Fred Mullins served for 8 years as
Chief.
He was followed in order by Robert
Sroufe, David Downie, Harold Niemoller, William Hieb, James Wargo and finally
David Downie (son of formerly listed Chief by same name).
In August of 2006, David Downie after serving as Volunteer Fire Chief
for 20 years was hired as the first full time Fire Chief in
The firemen’s association survived the
township taking over the operation of the fire department.
It continued for many years as a sort
of social organization within the fire department.
The association hired new firemen,
voted for their choice of fire chief as needed and raised money to purchase
items for the department that the township did not have the money purchase.
These were funded through dances,
raffles, and other forms of fund raising.
Firemen applied for acceptance to the
department to the association and the association voted to hire or refuse the
application.
Three no votes were needed to turn a
candidate down for the department.
The association also held several
social events throughout the year for the members.
The Christmas party was a favorite
among the member’s children, as Santa Claus arrived on the back of the fire
truck with a present for all the children.
Halloween was another fun time for the
membership. The members dressed in costume and competed in games.
A spring picnic was held at a near by park
with all the usual food and games.
With changes in society and the lack
of interest by the membership, the association eventually became out dated and
brought about its end.
The township took over the purchase of
all equipment and the hiring of all personnel.
Even though the association did not
last, for many years it was the backbone of the fire department.
This is true not only in
There are still some associations
working today at some of the smaller departments who do not have the funds they
need to run their departments.
In 1951 the township trustees realized
the need for additional equipment.
A 500 gallon GMC pumper was purchased
and housed at Symmes Corner in what now is
This became known as fire house #2,
with fire house #1 being on
Figure 2 - Company #1 (1950's)
Life Squads were far and few in
between. For the most part only cities
in
In 1953,
Life Squad Service, in the beginning
was manned by fire department personnel who had completed an American Red Cross
First Aid Course.
Over the course of time requirements
by the State of
In the 1970’s a state Emergency
Medical Technician class was required.
Later different levels of training
were developed to take care of the ever growing need for Emergency Medical
needs in the field.
In August 2000 Paramedic Service
became a reality in the township.
Today the fire department runs two
equipped Medic Squads and a separate Paramedic Unit that responds in the
evening when the department depends mostly on volunteers.
Also in 1953, the township purchased a
1000 gallon tanker which was housed at Symmes Corner.
A 900 gallon International tanker was
donated to the township, which they housed at the Tylersville Road Fire
House.
In 1954
With the township losing a fire house
to the newly incorporated
Figure 3 - Company #1 (1955)
Thus, in 1954 fire house #3 was built on
It was equipped with the 900 gallon
International tanker.
Figure 4 - Company #3 (1950's)
From the start of the township fire
department, firemen were notified of fires by a roof siren being set off at
each fire house.
The township contracted a telephone
system from Cincinnati Bell Telephone.
Fire phones, as they began to be
referred as, were placed in a member’s home.
Usually it was required that the house
could be counted on to answer the phone most of the time. That is why several
phones were placed.
In addition each fire house had a fire
phone.
The houses with phones had a door bell
type button installed next to the phone.
This button activated the roof sirens
at the fire houses.
The sirens were old World War Two Air
Raid Sirens donated through Civil Defense.
When the first fireman arrived at the
fire house he would call the fire phone and he would be supplied with the
address and nature of the call.
In turn he would then write the
address on a chalk board in the fire house for all other arriving members to
see the location of the call.
The chalk board was needed because in
the early days of volunteer firefighting only a couple firemen could ride on
the truck.
Most of the firemen drove their
personal car to the fires.
In the event the alarm was for a Life
Squad the person answering the call would call members of the department that
were Life Squad qualified to fill the call.
At the very least two members had to
make the call.
In the event no one was around to take the call, the Butler County
Sheriff’s Deputies drove station wagons with ambulance cots in the rear.
The only service they could provide
was what we call load and go.
No emergency medical attention was
applied to the patient.
In 1959 a fire levy was passed and the
township purchased a new Cadillac Ambulance equipped with all the modern first
aid gear to date.
As times changed so did the need for a
better method of notifying members of fires and life squad calls.
In the mid 1970’s the township
purchased a radio system which replaced the need for roof sirens.
Radio desk base stations were
installed in the homes that had the fire phones.
Each fireman was given a radio
receiver (Plectron) that they kept at home.
When a call was received tones were
sent out over the radio and voice notification was given whether the call was a
fire or a call for the life squad.
In the first few months of operation
the roof siren still sounded when a fire call was sent out
The chalk board continued use for a
short time until all members became familiar with the new system.
In the mid to late 1980’s the
plectrons were phased out and replaced with personal pagers that each member
carried.
The fire phone system eventually
became obsolete and the Butler County Sheriff took over the responsibility of
dispatching the fire department.
Today the members are required to take
shifts manning the fire station so response time is held to a minimum.
At night, on large fires, some
volunteers still respond from their homes to get back up engines or squads for
the runs as needed.
In 1956 a new GMC front mount pumper
was purchased by the township for use at fire house #3 on
The need for additional fire equipment
was deemed necessary as more houses were built in this area of the township.
In 1964 the membership decided it was
time to bring the fire department more up to date.
The members approached the township
trustees with the idea of purchasing a new modern pumper to meet the needs of a
growing community.
However, the township was not in a
financial position to purchase such a truck.
The members were determined to get a
new truck, so the membership got together and decided to give up their run pay
to purchase the new pumper.
The trustees agreed and a 1964 F.W.D.
Pumper was purchased.
The truck was a demonstrator that had
become available at a good price.
This was a huge step forward for
firefighting in the township.
Figure 5 - Company #3 (1960's)
With no where to house the new truck
an additional truck bay was added to the Tylersville Road Fire House.
The addition was built by members of
the department.
In the early days of the department,
if not for the members doing the work, a lot of what you see today would not
exist.
Over the years members of the
department donated goods and services to the betterment of the department.
Most of the mechanical work done on
the trucks and squad was preformed by members of the department.
They changed the oil as needed and
many times paid for the repairs out of their own pocket.
Back then all the members had a stake
in the township and the need to bond together to provide the best possible
service for all the citizens.
The members’ wives were also involved
with the operation of the department.
They had formed the ladies auxiliary
which held fund raisers for the fire department and a lot of time provided much
needed food and refreshment to the firemen on large fires.
Without the support of the wives a lot
of the social and community functions carried out the fire department, would
not have ever happened.
As you can see early volunteer fire
departments were in essence a family function.
As a volunteer, many nights firemen
were out all night helping people with flooded basements, downed trees, or any
number of other community needs.
Not to mention the nights you would be
at a fire all night.
Many employers back then understood the
need for volunteer departments and would excuse employees from work for the day
if they had been out all night.
Not many employers if any today would
be supportive to employees that were also volunteer firefighters.
Even the public view has changed.
There used to be a waiting list to get
on the department and then even a long wait once you were on to get on the life
squad schedule.
Volunteer firefighters in this area of
the country are becoming far and few in between.
It will be a sad state when no one
will volunteer to help their neighbor or community without being paid for their
services.
Thus I take my hat off to the members
of the department in 1964 who gave up their pay so the township could purchase
a much needed, new pumper for the community.
Figure 6 - Fire House #2 (1960's)
The fire Department did not have any
major changes after purchasing the 1964 FWD Pumper for several years to come.
In the mid 1970’s the fire department purchased a new style of life
squad.
The department started running out of
a van style ambulance.
Within a year or so, a second van
squad was purchased and for the first time the township now had a life squad at
each of its stations.
Figure 7 - Van Style Ambulance
Department members now had to take
state mandated Emergency Medical Technician Training.
This required classroom and practical
training at a local hospital.
With this training the fire department
was better prepared to serve the community’s medical emergencies.
In 1978 several members of the
department attended paramedic training in
This was done with hopes the township
would make the switch to a paramedic unit, but this was not to be realized for
at least 20 more years.
This is an example of the hope that
members of the department had.
They were always looking to improve the
service the department could provide and in doing so has kept this fire
department on the leading edge of the fire service.
There were many members, with various
skills brought to the department.
Many times when there was no way to
purchase needed materials, these members would make the needed item.
For example, in those days farms were
still plentiful in the township and surrounding area.
One of the members made a nozzle out
of a 2 ½ inch coupling and a three foot piece of cast iron pipe.
This was used to put out bales of hay
on fire.
It was not the easiest nozzle to
handle but it sure did the job.
This is another example of how the
members came together to make this a better fire department.
This was the volunteer spirit which
had always been strong in
In early 70’s the fire department held
raffles and raised funds to build an addition to the fire house on
The new addition included a large day
room or common area, equipped kitchen, a second restroom, and three offices for
fire department use.
One of the offices was eventually
given to the township police department for use by their officers.
This area became a spot for members to
gather and socialize.
Christmas parties, association
meetings, meals, and many other functions took place in the new day room of
fire house #1.
In 1977, while hosting part of the
The fire departments’ best front line
pumper (1964 FWD) was parked on
The driver did everything right and no
one ever suspected this could happen.
The truck was parked on a steep grade,
the brake was set, and the wheels were chocked.
During the exercise the chock broke
and the parking brake could not hold the weight of the truck.
Before anyone could react the truck
rolled down
The truck sustained considerable
damage. The house was actually knocked off the foundation.
The only saving grace was the truck
drove over a cistern and the lid collapsed stopping the truck from going
through the house.
Even though badly damaged the truck
started and pulled away from the house under its own power.
The truck was driven back to fire
house #1 and taken out of service.
It was a frightening moment for the
firemen.
The township was now protected by two
old obsolete trucks.
The FWD was going to need major
overhauling to get back in service.
The truck was sent to the Seagrave Fire Company in
The truck came back with a new look.
Members rewired the emergency lights,
installed a new electronic siren, split the 2½ inch hose bed so dual supply
lines could be laid at a fire scene.
(This was before 5’ hose became widely
used)
This truck or engine as we now call
them was back in service and was the front line pumper at fire house #1.
Figure 8 - FWD Pumper (Photo 1980)
In that same year the fire department
saw the need for a new pumper.
The township trustee were approached
and presented with the facts and figures of purchasing a new truck.
Remember the last truck was purchased
in 1964; prices had gone up quite a bit.
Specifications for the new truck were
drawn up and the township trustees agreed to accept bids for the purchase of a
new fire engine.
The bids were reviewed and a bid from
the Emergency One Fire Engine Company was accepted.
The new truck was delivered in 1978
and housed at the fire house on
The biggest difference in the truck
was the color. The truck was painted a bright green.
A study had shown that this green
color was easier to see.
Many fire departments in the country
changed the color of their trucks from the traditional fire red to this new
bright green color.
Here in
Recently
The new truck was of a new design.
Most of the body of the truck was made from aluminum.
This was not used widely at this time
in vehicle construction.
The truck made its first response to
an explosion at the Egner Trucking Company on
1977 was indeed a busy year for the
fire department.
The trustees had been meeting in an
old school house on
The trustees decided that a new
administration building was necessary for a growing community.
Plans for the building were presented
to the board of trustees. The plans included a new police station, township
offices, meeting hall, and a new fire station.
The new station would have drive
through bays, a kitchen, and a day room.
When the new administration/fire house
was completed, the old fire house on
The new fire house at
This move brought more changes to the
fire department.
Figure 9 - FWD Pumper (Photo 1977)
Figure 10 - International Grass Truck
Fire headquarters was established at
the
The new fire house on
From this point forward you hardly
ever heard anyone refer them as fire houses, in the new generation they became
known as stations.
With a headquarters established for
the first time, better record keeping became available.
With the police out of the Tylersville
station it gave the department much needed space.
The large office was turned into
storage/supply room; the other offices were for the Chief’s and officer’s use.
The 70’s brought about much change in
the turnout gear that firefighters were wearing.
The first major change was in helmet
construction.
Most departments were using aluminum
helmets and had been for years.
Many firemen were hurt because the
helmet conducted electricity.
The heavy rubber coats only gave
minimal protection against fire and/or chemical exposure.
Through the advances of science
plastic was being used in a larger market than ever before.
It did not take long for fire
equipment companies to realize the advantages of plastic.
Of course not everyone was convinced
in the beginning.
Like all new products the old timers
were set in their ways and it would take a few years to win them over.
In 1974 a new low profile helmet was
produced, it was OSHA compliant and lightweight.
This helmet was the 770 Philadelphian,
produced for its name sake, The Philadelphia Fire Department.
The Cairns Company produced this
helmet.
It is only fitting that the helmet was
custom made for a department that the founding father of firefighting in
The other change in turnout gear was a
new style coat.
The first was a coat made of a cotton
material, and referred as “duck coats”.
In the mid 1970’s DuPont developed a
new fire resistant material known as Nomex.
This material became widely used in
fire turnout gear.
Most turnouts today have their roots
to this discovery in the 70’s.
Another important item in the
firefighters gear came into use by this department around 1976.
This being the S.C.B.A., or self
contained breathing apparatus.
Surprisingly enough the firefighters
did not have anything to wear to protect their lungs except a couple old mine
style gas masks.
This did not give you clean air to
breath, only filtered.
The first two S.C.B.A. units were
carried in a large suitcase type device.
These were later mounted in the jump
seats on the 1964 FWD.
Though commonly used today in the fire
service, these breathing devises were not easily available to most departments.
The early S.C.B.A. units were
expensive and cost prohibitive to smaller departments.
In 1984 the department set bids for a
new fire engine.
Nothing like we had ever had before.
This new truck would have all the best
that fire engines were offering at the time.
The members knew they wanted a Sutphen
Pumper, just from everything we knew about them they were the best constructed
fire engines around.
Plans were drawn up and the township
trustees advertised for bids.
Several bids were received, but
everyone knew the only truck in consideration was the Sutphen.
When this engine arrived it was almost
a celebration of sorts.
Figure 11 - 1984 Sutphen Pumper
To the members at fire station #2 this
was a dream come true.
The engine had diesel, automatic
transmission, a deck gun, 5’ supply line, and so much more.
A fire engine had not brought as much
excitement since the firemen purchased the truck in 1964.
In 1986 the members at fire station #2
on Tylersville decided it was time for a change at their station.
Ideas were kicked around and it was
decided to do a major overhaul of the truck bays.
While the fire chief was at the
trustees meeting approaching them with the idea, members at station #2 had
already begun demolishing the interior of the bays.
By the time the chief returned most of
the interior wall separating the two bays laid in a pile of rubble on the
station floor.
The remodel kept evolving as
construction continued.
Eventually the ceiling was removed and
the new ceiling was raised higher which allowed for better lighting in the
truck bays.
The floors were torn up and a new
concrete floor was poured.
The station was repainted, rewired,
new bay doors, and all the work was performed by the members of fire station
#2.
This station stands today showing what
can happen when the traditional volunteer spirit is brought out.
This rivaled the earlier members
giving up pay so the township could have a new pumper.
In 1986 while returning from an auto
accident William Gray was at the wheel and Darrell Murrell was riding in the
officer’s seat.
On
The engine went off the south side of
the road into a ravine.
The force of the impact threw Darrell
into the dash breaking one of his legs.
Bill who was at the wheel was killed
in the accident.
This became the darkest day in the
history of the Fairfield Township Fire Department.
Never before had a firefighter been
killed in the line of duty.
Mr. William Gray was buried with full
honors.
A memorial stands today in his honor
at fire station #2.
It contains his helmet, coat, boots,
and pager.
As well as the bell off the 1947
International pumper.
In 1997 the township trustees sent out
for bids to purchase a new pumper.
The fire department drew up
specifications and bids were received on the new pumper.
The township purchased a new Sutphen
pumper.
This truck like others in the past
carried all the latest technology and best design of modern fire engines.
This truck was placed in service at
Station #2 on
Today, this truck is the first out
engine from Station #2.
Figure 12 - 1997 Sutphen
The fire department saw a need for a
new fire station and headquarters building.
The township Trustees were approached
and presented with the idea of a new fire station and headquarters building.
The township set aside land beside the
present township Administration building.
In 2000, a new fire station was built,
which houses fire station #1 and the fire department headquarters.
The building was like nothing the fire
department had ever seen before.
It contained offices for the fire
department administration, training room, sleeping quarters, drive thru bays,
and room for future expansion.
Today this station is home to the Fire
Chief, Assistant Fire Chief, Station officers, and more.
This building was a dream come true
for the members of the department.
1994 brought about political events
which forced the trustees to seek changing the status of the township into a
Recent changes in state law made it
possible for a township to change from a township form of government into a
city form of government.
The board of trustees filed the
necessary paperwork with
The trustees sought this change in an
attempt to protect our borders from annexation.
But the change was challenged in court
and the township was forced to return to township status, but not before
getting the approval from the cities surrounding us.
In order to return to township status
a portion of township land was incorporated into the City of
When the department started hiring
part time firefighter/paramedics for daytime coverage
it became apparent that the department needed to have leadership in place to
provide firefighter assignments,
supervise employees, and provide structure for the department.
It was decided that the position of
Assistant Fire Chief would become a full time position.
Assistant Chief Paul McKendry was the first
full time employee of the Fire Department. He was hired on
Paul was a volunteer Assistant Fire
Chief for
In 2002, the fire department sought to
purchase a ladder or tower fire truck.
This truck like all others was put out
for bids by the board of trustees.
The department purchased a 2002
Sutphen 75’ Tower.
This truck was designated Quint 11 and
housed at station #1 on
Figure 13 - 2002 Sutphen Quint
The Fairfield Township Fire Department
has seen many changes from the first formation in 1947.
This fire department has always been
innovative and progressive.
On
Now with a full time fire chief at the
helm the township can count on a professional and community oriented fire
department for many years to come.
In 2007, the fire department will be
celebrating 60 years of service to the citizens of
This brings with it a sense of pride
with it.
This is one of the oldest volunteer
fire departments in the county, if not the oldest.
Volunteer departments are very
different from Career fire departments.
Career department consist of full time
paid employees.
Volunteer departments consist of your
neighbors, your friends; people all coming together to provide a necessary
service to the community.
When the alarm sounds volunteers drop
what they are doing and become firefighters.
Volunteers come from many different
backgrounds.
It can be a
mix of white collar, blue collar, self employed, or just about any type of job
or employment.
But when the
alarm sounds they all come together for a common cause, as old as the
Volunteer fire
departments date back to Benjamin Franklin at the founding of our country.
Helping their
neighbors is the volunteer spirit.
It has been
said, why do firefighters run into a burning building when everyone else is
running out, the reason is to help your fellow man.
Volunteers have
a connection to the community they serve and the residents who are their
friends and neighbors.
Even as the
fire department here in
the current members and past members can take pride in the service this
department has provided over the last 60 years.
This is dedicated to all the men and
women who have served
The
The information in this report was
compiled by
Edward E. Sparks Jr.
With complete cooperation of
David M. Downie
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
|
|||