Print
Share page with AddThis

History

old fire house with horse-drawn fire carriages out front The Fire Department in the City of Chandler was established in 1899. It was divided into two-horse companies with a total of twenty-two members. Chandler received its first fire wagon in 1907. The two-horse team consisted of two dapple grey horses named Sis and Allen. In the early 1930s, CHFD received its first motorized fire engine. In the 1950s the first full-time firefighter was put on and by the early seventies, there were three fulltime and twenty volunteer firefighters. In 1969 there was a fire that started in the old courthouse on the third floor and the firefighters at the time had no way to put the fire out. After the fire, it was decided that Chandler needed a ladder truck and in 1970 CHFD received its first ladder truck which was in service until 1995, where it was replaced by a 1976 seventy-five foot ladder with a 750 GPM water pump.

black and white photo of an old fire truck black and white photo of men standing in front of a bell 

black and white photo of a man holding a hose in front of an old fire truck black and white photo of two firefighters standing in front of a truck

old group photo of the fire department members old group photo of fire department members standing in front of a truck

October 1973: (Front Row Left to Right) Russell Howser-Chief, Joe Hoover- Captain, Dave Hoover- Asst. Chief, Don Crowder, Ray Thronesberry Jr., Alan Conway, Floyd Gray.

(Back Row Left to Right) Dennis Beaty, Richard Key, Robert Mascho, Fred Lee, Ray Thronesberry Sr., Mike Clarkson, Bill Taylor, Robert Hicks.