Van Buren Township Fire Department

1970

2005

 

Dedicated to the men and women who have helped make Van Buren Township the fire department it is today.

2005 marks the thirty fifth year of service by the Van Buren Township Fire Department to the citizens and visitors of Van Buren Township. During our existence, we have managed to survive year after year. Through the leadership of our township government and diligent efforts of our firefighters, VBFD has been able to grow and continue to meet the needs of our community today. The following department history was received from the minutes of the first community meeting recorded by Charles Behrman and from department lifetime members.

1970-1975 Up until this time Bloomington City Fire Department covered Van Buren Township with fire protection with an agreement to pay $3000 per year for service. After completing all the necessary advisory board meetings, Van Buren Township Trustee David Hays called a public meeting for residents in the community interested in forming a fire department in Van Buren Township. The meeting was held on Monday, June 15, 1970 at the Monroe County Airport Managers Office. When those attending the meeting arrived, they found the office locked and moved the meeting to the building where proposed fire station would be. Do to the hot summer heat the meeting began on the front pad of the building next to the airport control tower. Those in attendance were David Hays, Charles Behrman, Larry Fleming, James F. Sink, Max Ferree, Larry Hoard, Robert E. Porter, Bedford Blakely, Raymond Spires, Robert Briscoe, Harry Morganett, David E. Patterson, Dennis Douthitt, Rufus Koontz, Clarence Eller, Jim Smith, Gilbert Apple, James Mundy, Warren VanDeventer, Orval Whaley, and Noble Bush. It was at this meeting a committee was formed to shape the fire department. Officers were appointed as follows: Charles Behrman-President, Max Ferree-Vice President, Ray Spires-Secretary, and Gilbert Apple-Treasurer. "Grandpa" VBFD Original Engine 91 These gentlemen spent many long, hard hours forming and developing the details involved in starting a fire department. In October of 1970 applications were taken from the general public for full-time firefighters positions. Out of six applications received only four men were selected by the township trustee. Our first paid firefighters were Jim Mundy, Dean Williams, Rex Deckard, and John Payne. The men worked two per shift, working 24 hours on with 24 hours off duty. The department held its first election of officers in November of 1970. The newly formed Executive Board would take office in January of 1971 and consisted of Max Ferree-President, Rufus Koontz- Vice President, Ray Spires-Secretary, and Gilbert Apple- Treasurer with William Koontz, John Payne and David Hays members at large. Van Buren Township Fire Department's first chief, Jim Mundy, was appointed and Robert Self was appointed Assistant Chief. The location of the first community meeting became the home of VBFD. The building located between the airport administration building and Ralph Rogers Co. hanger is still in use today as the maintenance garage and office for the Monroe County Airport.

Lowell Sparks, mechanic and owner of the Sparks Garage in Stanford, was contacted by Trustee Hays to order a Ford school bus chassis, starting the process of building a new pumper. Howe Fire Equipment of Indianapolis was contacted for the shell of the new pumper. Once the chassis arrived Howe would take it and form our new pumper (Engine 91-Grandpa) with a 1,000 gal tank. A radio was purchased and installed from money raised from the West Lions Club through a circus and the sale of booths for the Monroe County Fair. The Howe Company also built a new brush truck (Brush 92) with a 250 gal tank. On December 3, 1970 the 1970 chrome yellow model trucks rolled off the factory line and into the fire station. Along with the two new trucks, VBFD also acquired from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) an Army 6X, formerly an old missile carrier. The truck was refurbished with a 1,100 gal tank mounted to form our first tanker. Due to the space constraints in the fire station this truck set outside and when needed in the winter would have to be filled with water before going to a fire. The department also received another Army Jeep used for brush fires, as well as, a Jeep mounted with an Ansul extinguisher which was sent on aircraft emergencies on airport property. 97 Airport Crash Truck 98 Support Truck for Airport

"Monroe County's newly organized Van Buren Township Volunteer Fire Department had its first fire run the other day. It was only a grass fire but the new volunteer firemen were happy at the prospect of getting to extinguish their first blaze, when they got to the scene they found some spoil sport arrived ahead of them and stamped out the fire." (Herald-Times, December 1970) With the station in service with paid and volunteer firefighters VBFD was ready to fight fires. The township made an appropriation of $55,000 for fire protection. The 27 volunteers each received $75 to pay for firefighting clothing and gasoline for their personal vehicles used when responding to fire runs. $28,000 went to pay drivers' salaries, $10,000 represented annual payment for the new pumper. There was a soda pop machine placed in the building. Money from the machine was used to purchase toilet paper, soap, dish soap, trash bags, coffee, and paper towels. The volunteers installed a shower and toilet and lavatory in one corner of the huge concrete block garage headquarters and enclosed it to provide a decent comfortable setting. Volunteers also netted $4,000 by selling candy and another $250 by co-sponsoring a fly in breakfast. The proceeds went toward purchasing the needs of the department which the township could not afford. The fire station the county owned was ideal for housing the equipment yet proved to be too small to house the rolling stock. The environment was less than desirable to live in during the firefighters 24 hour shifts. Beastly hot in the summer and uncomfortably drafty in the winter with loft beds rivaling those found in skid row flow houses and daily living quarters perched on the top tailboards of fire trucks, a new house for the crew became a growing necessity. Construction began on the new station in October of 1973; the new location of 2130 S. Kirby Rd remains the home of VBFD headquarters to this day. The old station had been the property of the county, the new station, though on airport property, belongs to the township. The total cost of the project was $73,891 and contracted to Michael Demshar. The station construction was complete and the process of moving in began in March of 1974.

1975-1982 1975 brought more change to the fire department when Township Trustee David Hays was beat in the fall election by volunteer firefighter Farrell Duckworth. There is not much in the way of written history over the next several years, but with new leadership in the trustee's office came change for the department. With more types of alarms answered by VBFD, we began a movement toward helping people with medical emergencies. In 1976 our first two members, Richard Taylor and Joel Korst, became state certified emergency medical technicians (EMT) after completing the 81 hour course, which was 71 hour classroom and 10 hour emergency room observation. In the late 1970's we built our first new rescue truck. The volunteers purchased the truck, Otis elevator helped design and fabricate the inside cabinets, and the township purchased the first Jaws of Life tool. The following year an addition was built on the south side of the station and trustee Farrell Duckworth brought the township government offices into the fire station. The engine purchased in 1970 was replaced by a 1978 Ward LaFrance Ambassador 4-person crew cab pumper. The old Army 6X tanker was retired to newly formed Benton Township Volunteer Fire Department in Unionville. The 1970 Ford Engine became our second out pumper tanker. Top: Rescue 96 the second rescue in Monroe County to be state certified for EMS Right: Engine 93 prior to refurbishing in 1995

1982-1988 After winning his second term as township trustee Farrell Duckworth was elected as a State Senator. His wife, Sandra, was named township trustee for the remainder of the term. In 1982 Sandra Duckworth ran for township trustee and held the position until her retirement in 2002. During her leadership, Sandra brought much change and growth to the fire department as well as the township. Again the written history for this time period is limited; however the change can be seen in the daily operations of the fire department today. In 1986 a satellite fire station was built to better serve the residents in the southern district of the township. The location of the Sparks Garage in Stanford was purchased from Lowell Sparks and a new fire station was built to house Van Buren Township Station 19. Initially Station 19 was manned Monday through Friday from 0800 to 1600, later going to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Along with the growth a dark cloud was cast over VBFD department in the late 1980's with the loss of Tracy Blasdel, a full-time firefighter who suffered a heart attack at the home of his parents on Park Square Drive. Blasdel died on January 8, 1987. While still coping with the loss of a friend and a partner, the department was hit again when shortly after shift change full-time firefighter Jan Dawes suffered a heart attack in the kitchen of the fire station and died on August 8, 1988. Group Photo circa 1988

1988-2001 Recovering from the recent losses, the department continued to maintain service for the township and strived to get equipment to better serve its residents. A new rescue truck was purchased in 1988, a Ford 4X4, from Hoosier Fire Equipment Co., with a utility body, 250 gpm pump holding 200 gallons of water and 15 gallons of foam (Rescue 96). Along the same time a new 1990 Spartan 6 man cab 1000 gpm pump 1500 gallon tank was also purchased. After an accident involving this engine an emergency purchase was made for a 1993 KME Terminator 5 crew cab engine with a 1250 gpm pump and 1000 gallon tank. Soon our first engine, Engine 91- Grandpa, was retired from firefighting service. In January of 1995 construction began on a station to house the airport firefighting equipment. This project was known as Project 13 for the Monroe County Airport. The station was built next to the current headquarter station and was built by an FAA grant. The FAA grant paid 90%, the State of Indiana paid 5% and Monroe County paid 5% of the total cost of $142,430. The spring of the 1995 brought another addition to the firefighting fleet. An additional FAA grant was received by the airport to purchase an E-ONE Titan Aircraft Rescue Vehicle, 1250 gpm pump, 1500 gallons water, 200 gallons foam, and 500 lbs. of Purple K powder, all to be used in aircraft emergencies and operated by Van Buren Fire Department personnel. The cost of this unit was $ 288,000. In the mid- to late- 1990's VBFD upgraded its emergency medical services with the purchase of two defibrillators, becoming the second fire department in Monroe County to be equipped with such. In 2001 a new Ford Explorer XLS was purchased as an EMS vehicle. The addition of this vehicle lightened the response load from our current rescue truck.

2001-2004 The September 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the US World Trade Center brought numerous changes in the world of firefighting. Money was flooded into the Homeland Security Fund; helping fire departments meet the growing demands that where being placed on them. A grant process was set up through FEMA allowing fire departments to apply for the funds that were now available. VBFD applied for and was granted $10,400 to be spent on training and visual aid materials for continuing firefighter education.

Present Van Buren Township Fire Department has been fortunate to have many men and women through the years dedicated to public service and the betterment of the department. Our current roster includes 16 volunteers, 6 part-time paid firefighters and 12 full-time paid firefighters. Out of the current roster of 34, we have 24 personnel certified as EMT-Basic or higher and 3 personnel certified as first responders. Currently the department has plans of starting a First Responder class in the spring of 2005 to give the remaining personnel an opportunity to gain their medical certification. With the current group of firefighters and leadership it is our goal to provide Van Buren Township and visitors with the highest quality service; a fire department of men and women who they can depend on and feel proud of. From its start in 1970 with 4 full-time firefighters and 24 volunteers, six pieces of firefighting equipment and one fire station, VBFD has grown to 34 firefighters strong, ten firefighting apparatus and two manned fire stations. As we enter our 35th year of service, Van Buren Township Fire Department continues to strive to stay on the cutting edge of firefighting technology in order to provide the best service we can to our community and its visitors.

Van Buren Fire Department
Last updated January 31, 2005