History
In 1911, the City of Ashtabula enacted legislation to change the volunteer fire department into a fully paid professional service. This made the Ashtabula Fire Department one of the first paid fire departments in the State of Ohio.
Two pieces of apparatus were purchased: a 1911 Seagrave chemical truck and a 1911 Robinson pumping engine with a chemical tank. Originally, six men were hired and began working in September of 1911 out of a station on Bridge Street. This station was used until 1959, when its personnel moved into a new station on West Ninth Street.
In February of 1912, with the hiring of six additional men, the City opened a newly constructed station on Park Avenue at West 48th Street. The 1911 Robinson pumping engine was moved from Bridge Street into this building. The department then had twelve paid men, two pieces of motorized apparatus, and two stations.
The Park Avenue station remained in service until the early 1970s, when the proposed widening of 48th Street forced it to be moved. In 1974, with the completion of the present station on Main Avenue, the Park Avenue station was closed. In 1987, the station on Ninth Street was closed due to financial difficulties within the City of Ashtabula.
The Ashtabula Fire Department of today bears little resemblance to the department of 1911. While equipment, staffing, training, and emergency response have changed dramatically, the mission remains the same: protecting the citizens and visitors of Ashtabula.
Ashtabula Firefighting
Images of America
Paperback written by Eric A. Johnson, 2006
Over 200 archival images with documentation on 127 pages, covering approximately 170 years of Ashtabula firefighting history.
The story of firefighting in Ashtabula is almost as old as the community itself, beginning with informal citizen bucket brigades in the early decades of the 1800s. Between 1836 and 1911, the growing Lake Erie port and manufacturing city was served by dedicated volunteer fire companies, including the celebrated Protection Fire Company.
Ashtabula's rapid growth led to the October 25, 1911 transformation of the city's volunteer fire corps into a paid, full-time professional fire department.
View Book on AmazonToday's Firefighter
Many people have seen the fire department in the course of their lives. Some may have even had to call the fire department for an emergency. However, few people realize what is required of the modern firefighter.
Today's firefighter spends hundreds of hours in the classroom. Firefighters attend a basic fire academy, emergency medical technician training, incident command classes, hazardous materials classes, and radiological training classes. This is only the beginning of the educational process required to remain current in an ever-changing emergency response environment.
The firefighter of today may respond to an emergency wearing approximately 70 pounds of protective equipment costing thousands of dollars. They may arrive on apparatus costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, carrying specialized equipment used to protect life and property.