Copyright © 2007 The City of Martinsville

This site is best viewed in 1280x800

Webmaster

The History of the Martinsville Fire & EMS

The Martinsville Fire Department was organized in 1891 as a volunteer fire company. The original roster was made up of approximately twenty-five volunteers. The first Fire Chief of the department at the time the company was activated was Samuel Morgan, who was also the Mayor. The alarm system at that time was a large bell, which was common procedure, and was mounted on what was known as the H.B. Hundley Livery Stable. The original equipment consisted of two hand hose reels carrying approximately 500 feet of hose. The reels and other equipment were stored in a shed on Main Street. Some time after organization of the company, preparations were made to use horses to pull the equipment. In pursuance of using horses for transportation, an ordinance was passed authorizing firemen to stop and commandeer any horse drawn vehicle on the street to pull apparatus to the fire scene.

The initial organization continued to operate under Chief Morgan until the latter part of 1899. The next Chief to serve was J.D. Aaron whose tenure as Chief continued until February 1921, when he retired, due to health problems.   P.S. Ford was named Chief who served until he resigned in October of the same year.   J.H. Pharis was appointed acting Chief, and he served until March 1922. J.R. Henley was appointed Chief to relieve Mr. Pharis, and his tenure continued until April 1936. Records indicate Mr. Pharis became acting Chief for a short period of time that same year. On June 1, 1936, James E. Minter was appointed paid Chief, the first full time Fire Chief of the department. Chief Minter's tenure extended thru August 31, 1956.  Clay E. Easterly, the city Fire Marshal, was appointed acting Chief. On January 1, 1957, acting Chief Easterly became Fire Chief and held that position until 1968 when he retired. At that time J. Lloyd Gregory was appointed Chief and served from 1968 until he retired in 1988.  W. Lewis Reeves was appointed Fire Chief and served from 1988 until he retired in 1996.  Jerry Brock was appointed Fire Chief in 1997, and he retired in 2006.  Clarence Monday was appointed Fire Chief in 2006 and in 2007 he was appointed to the City Mangers position. Kenneth Draper was appointed Fire Chief in 2007 and remains in office today.

The first motor equipment introduced in the department was a Winton car donated to the department by Watt Hairston. The vehicle was converted into a hose carrier. The records indicate the next piece of motor equipment was purchased by the City in the latter part of 1916. This apparatus was a Reo truck and replaced the original Winton car. The use of the Reo continued as the only motor vehicle of the fire department until 1925, when the City purchased a 1,000 gallon American LaFrance pumper.  This piece of apparatus was known as Number 1 for many years and was taken out of service around 1952. It was made available to Collinsville while they were organizing a volunteer company. This piece of apparatus was retired shortly afterwards due to the mechanical condition.  The next piece of apparatus was purchased in 1934 was a 500 gallon American LaFrance pumper. This unit stayed in service until 1957 when it was replaced by a 750 gallon pumper. The 1934 unit is still known as unit No.2 which is housed in the No.2 Fire station.

In 1949, a reorganization of the Department was affected in which an auxiliary volunteer company was formed. A Fire Marshal was employed to train the volunteers and set up a fire prevention program. The volunteers were recruited from a cross section of interested citizens of the city. The new volunteer fire company started their training in which included the same training curricula as the regular paid firefighters.  The volunteer company has been active since the date of organization and has contributed in many ways to the improvement of fire prevention and protection. In 1963, the volunteer company, with the help of the Fire Chief, designed and planned a salvage unit which was one of the most modern in service. The entire cost of the salvage truck was underwritten by the funds raised by the volunteer company. In addition to providing the salvage unit, the company has provided more auxiliary equipment for use in the fire department.

The present department consists of two stations. Headquarters, also known as Company No.1, is located on the corner of Moss and West Church Streets. This station replaced the old Headquarters, which was located in the old City Hall Building.   In 1948, Station No.2 was opened on the corner of Starling Ave. and Cliff Street on the south side of the city, and remains in service today.  Presently, the Department has 30 full-time personnel, 26 of which are assigned to the Operations Division.  The Fire Chief and an Administrative Assistant serve in the Administration Division.  The Fire Marshal oversees the Prevention/Support Division while the Emergency Management Coordinator manages the Emergency Management Division and the City’s Emergency Operations Center.  13 part-time personnel and 27 active volunteers supplement the department. 

Top of Page