Austin Volunteer Fire Department

The official change associated with Austin Fire division from a volunteer business to a completely paid, profession business had been voted on in May and took place on Summer 1, 1916. This is an extremely late time in relation to various other towns and cities of general dimensions nationwide. The reason for such a late transition was as a result of effectiveness and reliability regarding the Austin Volunteers. The very first fire main appointed by Austin city administration was C.F. Millett in 1866. Today numerous fire ordinances had been passed away and purely and effectively implemented because of the volunteers, have been comprised of most of the town´s top merchants and businessmen. On March 3, 1874 a more sophisticated ordinance was enacted by the city council setting up a fire division with a chief, associate main, and recorder, fire commissioners, fire authorities, etc. Then, on 31, 1886 an even more considerable regulation was adopted, which offered the entire departmental plan and fire business articles of organization. For this time fire apparatus motorists became compensated people whom existed within fire stations. For that reason, the Austin Fire division really became a mixture volunteer/paid division around the 1880s. 1st fully paid fire department created in Tx had been the town of Galveston in 1885.

In a nutshell, the introduction of the career Austin Fire division began in the 1870´s with a tremendously formal volunteer program. The success of the volunteer company delayed the need for a vocation department because lots of the volunteers devoted their life toward fire division. In the springtime of 1916, due in big part to political pressure and not fundamentally a city need, the citizens of Austin voted in support of the development of a paid, municipal fire division. Overnight, the division moved from a lot more than 200 volunteers to 27 compensated firefighters working six twenty-four hour changes each week. Several volunteers had been among the 27, but a lot of the firefighters weren't from the volunteer ranks. Clarence L. Woodward, who was simply a liquor supplier and volunteer since 1894, ended up being appointed the first fire main of this compensated organization.

Washington number 1 was the sole fire organization to disband without an extension of solution. Hook-and-ladder #1 and Colorado #2 became Truck Co. 1 and Hose Co. 1 at central-fire facility 1 combined with inclusion of motor Co. 1 in the exact same section. Coverage number 3 became Hose Co. 2 at Station 2. North Austin number 6 became motor 3 at Station 3. western Austin No. 7 became Hose Co. 4 at Station 4. East Austin No. 4 became Hose Co. 5 at Station 5. Southern Austin # 5 became Hose Co. 6 at facility 6. Tenth Ward number 8 became Hose Co. 7 at Station 7. And save Co. 9 became Hose Co. 8 at Station 8. This numbering system is still in effect these days, although several of these programs happen reconstructed in different geographical places.