History

The actual date of the organization of the Gatesville Volunteer Fire Department is not known due to a fire that wiped out the east side of our square and records to this fact.  The Fire Department became an official organization on February 6, 1884 when a city ordinance was passed creating a fire unit.

This first public construction of what was called the “Engine House” was built in 1885.  The “Engine House” was built for the purpose of housing fire department equipment, an office for the city tax assessor-collector, and a “calaboose”.  On this building was a tower that contained the fire bell which notified the town of a fire.  The fire bell (which was purchased in 1885 for the price of $69.50) is now housed in a monument on the Coryell County Courthouse lawn and was dedicated on our 100th anniversary in 1984.

The first calls answered by the newly organized “hook and ladder” outfit were at the Rubarth Wells Meat Market and at the Lowe and Mings Lumber Yard.
From that date in 1884 to the present, many men and women have voluntarily given their time, their strength, and in one instance, their life. On a Wednesday afternoon January 19, 1944, while responding to a grass fire in the southeastern part of town, the departments two engine’s, taking different routes, collided at the intersection of Lutterloh and Leon streets. Firemen R.L. Homan’s back was broken, Doug Blackman's shoulder was broken, and 29 year old fireman Aurellous Poston died from injuries he sustained when he and the others were thrown from the fire trucks as they collided.

In January 1990 the Fire Department moved from the fire station located at city hall into their new and present location at 109 South 23rd Street.