History of the Whitehouse Fire Department
The
first meeting of the Whitehouse Fire Department was held on May 25, 1886 with
Chief William K. Jones presiding. In 1908, the Whitehouse Fire Department joined
the Northwest Ohio Volunteer Firemen's Association. After Chief Jones was
elected to Council in 1912, Mayor E.R. Sly appointed Willard Doren to serve as
Chief and F.B. Jones to serve as Assistant Chief. Accurate records and minutes
were not kept until 1920, so it is unclear how long Doren and Jones remained in
office. On January 1920 a citizens meeting was held and W.K. Jones was made
Chief. The department has remained active since that date.
In the beginning, the equipment consisted of a hand pumper, hose cart, buckets, horse drawn equipment and plenty of strong men. In February 1926 the first motorized fire truck arrived, a REO chassis which was purchased from Lehman & Sullivan of Whitehouse, and the Howe Fire Apparatus Company of Indiana installed a 15 year old vertical three piston pump, for a total cost of $5,000.00. The second piece of equipment, a 1941 Buffalo pumper, was purchased and delivered on July 17, 1941. Also that year, an addition to the Town Hall was built for the purpose of a new and larger fire station.
The Fire Department's funds came from donations, money from the Village, and from the firemen themselves. On January 6, 1944, the Whitehouse Village Fire Department voted to buy a used Dodge 1,000 gallon tank truck so that water could be carried to fires outside the Village limits. On April 5, 1945, a used Dodge panel truck was purchased to serve as a rescue vehicle, bringing the fleet to a total of 4 vehicles: a 1926 Reo, a 1941 Buffalo, a Dodge 1,000 gallon tank truck, and the Dodge panel rescue truck.
From that time on, the fire Department seemed to draw more interest from the community, and began extensive training courses for its members. Additional equipment was added regularly, creating a space problem for housing of the equipment and gear. In order to hold a meeting, the trucks were removed from the fire station and chairs were set up. In 1975 the Fire Department began planning for a new station. After one year of planning and looking for a location, a parcel of land was donated by the American Can Company (now known as Rexam Beverage Can Company).
On May 22, 1977, a grand dedication ceremony was held in honor of the new Fire Station located on Waterville Street. On January 1, 1978, the County Life Squad was added and staffed with Village personnel after attending extensive paramedic courses.
Due to the extensive growth of the community and additional equipment, the spring of 1999 brought a large addition to the station to accommodate the EMS vehicles and equipment.
Click here for a detailed time line of events.