History
A history of the Delaware Fire Department in fifteen chapters: the early volunteer companies, the chiefs and members, the horses, apparatus and stations, and the growth of fire prevention and emergency medical services. Historical photographs of the department are on the Photographs page.
HISTORY OF THE DELAWARE FIRE DEPARTMENT 1831 -1991 In the following pages, Retired Fire Chief Wilbur Bills has attempted to reflect the history of Fire Protection for the Village and City of…
(From Delaware County History {Perrin & Battles} 1880) During the early history of Delaware as a village every citizen was a member of the fire department. At the first alarm everyone rushed out…
After the original organization of the Fire Department in 1834 by the City Council, the companies went through various changes. A reorganization of the companies took place and a Fire Association…
In 1834 when the Delaware Fire Department was first organized, all personnel were volunteers or "Minute Men," as they were referred to, until approximately 1870 when full-time drivers for the…
In 1834 when the Delaware Fire Department was first organized, all personnel were volunteers or "Minute Men", as they were referred to, until approximately 1870 when full-time drivers for the…
Paid Members 1870-1900 Edward Finley William Mathias Jacob Kruck William E. Moore Charles V. Owston George Aigin Oscar Jones Jack Cunningham William Davis Walter Watson Elmer Watson William E. Kruck…
The department hired full-time paid drivers with the change to horse drawn apparatus in 1874. The paid members were supplemented with 10-20 volunteers called Minute Men. The manpower remained…
Fireman George Vining with two of the fire horses in front of the Fire Station in the Old City Hall. Mr. Vining served on the department from 1907 to 1913. The use of horses to transport fire…
Fire Trumpets Fire trumpets were used in the early days for the chief officers to shout orders to the firemen at the scene of a fire. The department still has three of the original trumpets in its…
1834 - First hand engines (2) 1846 - Oct. 21st. First "Hunneman" hand engine the "Olentangy #1, at a cost of $675.00 with equipment which cost $303.50. 1846 - Oct. 21st. Hose Reel and Hook and…
Early water supply for fire protection consisted of wells with hand pumps to fill buckets which were passed along a line of men to the hand fire pumps. The empty buckets were then passed back by a…
Formal housing of apparatus and equipment came with the first organization of Delaware's Fire protection in 1834. The space needed in the beginning was small but soon grew. 1831 First mention of…
Efforts were made in the early days of the Village of Delaware to regulate hazards that might cause fire. An ordinance was passed on July 19, 1835 banning the explosion of firecrackers and gunpowder…
1940's An early emergency medical service in the Delaware Fire Department began around 1940 and was very minimal. The training consisted of a 10-hour Red Cross first aid course and the only…
From left: Retired Chief Fred Bills, Wilbur Bills, James Pliickebaum, Chief Jerry Pliickebaum taken in 1954, four years after Chief Fred Bills retired. Two family names held the title of Fire Chief…