Fire Department History

Fire Protection & More

In the early years of our town, people could only depend upon family and neighbors for fire protection. with no telephones and no nearby neighbors, the family fought its own battle with fire, which usually was a losing one.

According to historical records, along with many homes and barns, numerous early Tallmadge industries were consumed by fire. Some of the more prominent mentioned ones are the Wells & Gay saw mill; Tyron, Wright & Sperry Sewer Pipe Works; Mauer Flouring Mill; the Tallmadge Drain Shop; Baldwin’s Carriage Works; Kramer’s Hardware; the Erie Depot; the Circle Inn; and even the central school.

In 1931, the Tallmadge trustees made an arrangement with Akron for fire protection. in 1934, after a rash of fires, protection was provided by the Stow fire department. In 1944, a group of Tallmadge volunteers built their own fire truck, purchased an old gas station, remodeled it, and the Tallmadge Fire Department was born. This first fire station was located in what is now the green area of the library parking lot on South Avenue.

The original fire truck was a 1934 Ford truck chassis procured from a local junkyard. It was fitted with a homemade 500-gallon water tank, and a pump acquired from the federal Civil Defense system. There is never mentioned any word of the purchase of any equipment. Words such as procured, acquired, donated and borrowed were always used in its place.

David Bierce Fire Chief, Harry O. King, Assistant Chief, and fifteen firemen were sworn in late in 1943. Their first call was May 28,1944, to the Stella Sparhawk residence on East Avenue. There was no mention of damage.

In 1945 the firemen built an addition on the fire station, and in 1947, the village purchased a new Chevrolet truck chassis to replace the 1934 Ford. There are many stories told of the old truck driving clear off of the road and back on again without ever moving the steering wheel. The city also purchased a brand new Mack triple combination motorized pumper, for the sum of $12,000. This truck was in active service until 1988, when it was donated to the Tallmadge Historical Society, and still can be seen at parades and festivals.

Funding for equipment, other than the trucks, was made possible by the Department conducting public fish fries. History tells us that these fish fries were widely supported by the citizens of Tallmadge through their attendance and donations of food and personal help. It was not unusual to fry over 500 pounds of fish and have people stand in lines from the fire station to the circle waiting to eat.

During the late 1940s, the railroad tracks which bisected the city presented a major fire protection problem. Trains came through at a rate of one every 6-7 minutes, with many of these stopping and blocking the roadway. The city was blocked from Howe Road to Southwest Avenue. In 1952, Station #2 at Six Corners was built. The city purchased the materials, and the labor and beer were furnished by the volunteers.

In 1952 Chief Bierce retired and Wilburn Crites was elected Fire Chief, a position he filled until 1976. John Crossen, who was hired as the city’s full-time fire inspector in 1970, was then appointed chief, and retired in July 1981. Dennis Crossen was promoted to the position of Fire Chief in December 1981.

By 1954, the costs involved with two fire stations and the need for new equipment caused the village to place a 1 mill fire levy on the ballot. The money was used to purchase two 1956 Ford fire trucks and pay the firemen $1.50 for each call and training session. The five-year levy passed 1395 to 611. The original 1 mill levy was renewed every five years until 1977. The effective rate of taxation by then was only .75 mills.

Up until 1977, the Fire Department’s only job was to extinguish fires. During the 1970s a popular television program introduced the concept of fire-department-based ambulance service. The citizens requested such an Emergency Medical System, and the Fire Department met the challenge. At that time, the law required that the Fire and EMS levy be separate issues. The electorate was asked to approve a 1.50 mill fire levy, and a 1.50 mill EMS levy. Upon approval, the city purchased two ambulances, hired two full-time firefighter-paramedics, and increased the part-time ranks to forty-one.

On November 27th, 1978, the Tallmadge Emergency Medical Service began operations; during that year we responded to 139 fire calls, and 40 EMS calls. 1979 was the first full year for EMS, and the call tally was 157 fires, and 562 EMS. In 1982, both the fire and EMS levies were renewed, and the city purchased its third ambulance to meet the demands of the service.

In 1988 the number of calls had increased to 1089, and due to increased cost a .50 mill increase was asked for and granted by the citizens. By this time, all of the money generated by the levy was being used to pay operational costs. The fire trucks and ambulances were being used more and more, and there was no money to replace them. In 1991, we asked for a .25 mill increase in the levy, all of which has been earmarked and placed in a capital improvements fund for the purchase of all new future equipment.
Since that time the city has purchased one new ambulance, a 75-foot ladder truck, a car, and has ordered a heavy rescue truck that was delivered in early May 1997.

In 1996, the Fire Department, in response to the increased number of runs, (1674), completely overhauled its operations. Since 1944, whenever there was a call for the Fire Department, a call went out to all members, and usually enough people responded to handle the situation. In August 1996, we hired three new full-time firefighter-paramedics and have scheduled four people (two full-time & two part-time) to work at the fire station twenty-four hours a day. This has reduced our average response time to less than five minutes. The remainder of the part-time people are called back when there is more than one EMS call, or a major fire.

The city has decided to absorb the extra costs involved in this program from the general fund balance, rather than request another tax increase for Fire Department operations. In order to avoid the necessity of asking for the levy every five years, the citizens were asked to make the 3.75 mill levy permanent. In November of 1996, the voters overwhelmingly approved this measure, providing a stable funding base for the Fire and EMS system for many years to come.

The future looks bright for a our citizens. Fire losses in commercial and industrial building have all but disappeared through the efforts of our fire prevention and inspection division. However, according to Ohio law, a man’s home is still his castle, and we cannot just walk in, do a fire inspection, and order corrections. Our response to this problem is that this year we are working toward the purchase of a self-contained mobile training center. This center will be towed from neighborhood to neighborhood with fire safety films, programs and information to help reduce fires in our single-family dwellings. These classes will be focused to both children and adults. We are now seeking grants and outside funding for the trailer, in order not to overburden the Fire Department’s budget.

The staffing of station #2, with two people has reduced the response time to less than five minutes all of the city. This minimum staffing, allows a well equipped first response of emergency teams to all areas, resulting in minimum fire loss and maximum pre-hospital emergency medical treatment. The city continues to explore methods to offer the best service at a reasonable cost to the taxpayers.

The recent expansion and growth of our city has caused the Fire Department to broaden the scope of its duties from that of just fighting fires to one that encompasses all emergency services including firefighting, EMS, prevention, education and environmental protection. From very humble beginnings, we have continuously expanded our duties to provide our citizens with the best service possible at a reasonable cost, and we pledge to do so for the future.