Mission Statement

It is Our Mission to protect community, life, property, and the environment through the delivery of efficient and effective fire and life-safety services. Our mission is accomplished through teamwork, innovation, education, preparedness, prevention, and emergency incident mitigation

History

The Early Years (1835-1929)

Prior to the formation of the fire department in 1894, volunteers were summoned to the scene of fires using whatever methods seemed practical for the times and situation. The first fire protection in Willoughby was provided in 1835-by a bucket brigade. When there was a fire, the bucket brigade carried water from the town pump and threw it where it would do the most good. Click On Photo For Larger View...

Before the fire department was organized, Willoughby had more disastrous fires than almost any other community of its size in America. At one time or another, all of the Willoughby business section was burned except the Bond Hall.

One of the earliest fires recorded in the village of Willoughby occurred in 1856. Fire consumed a female seminary located on Erie Street, at the intersection of what are now River Road, Euclid Avenue and Erie Street. Then, in 1860, a wooden hotel and three other buildings located where the Bond Block now stands on Erie St. were destroyed by fire.

In 1871 The Zebra Stage House that was located just north of the railroad tracks on Erie St. burned. The barn was saved and served as a livery stable for many years.

On November 9th, 1883, a fire started on Clark Avenue which eventually destroyed several residences on Clark, all of the stores on the west side of Erie Street, the large livery stables behind the stores, barns and small houses on Second Street, and the warehouses of S.V. Wilson on Third Street. It was almost by super-human exertions that the dwellings on the south side of Erie St. were saved. At one time their destruction seemed inevitable; but men, women, and children-in the absence of any fire department-worked like heroes.

Two years later, there was another costly fire on the East Side of Erie Street, which burned all of the wooden stores between West Spaulding and Glenn Avenue. This included eight businesses and one residence.

In 1888, Sheriff James Moloney was on late night patrol when he noticed the entire first floor of the Knieling Meat Market Building on Erie Street in flames. To arouse the community, he fired the entire load of his revolver in rapid succession. He then broke into the old college (later, known as Willoughby Union High School) and rang the school bell. As the local citizenry was awakened, volunteers were loaned a hand pump belonging to S.V. Wilson to help extinguish the flames. Water was pumped onto the fire from neighboring wells and cisterns. The fire was not extinguished until it consumed much of the block. The buildings that were destroyed were replaced with brick structures that still stand at the comer of Erie and Third Streets.

Subsequent to the installation of a water works in 1892, the village procured a hose reel cart and a fire department was formally organized in 1894. The fledgling fire department was comprised of two companies of volunteers totaling 38 members. The department was headed by Chief Larry Ryan.

In 1906, the village purchased an American LaFrance hose wagon that was pulled to fires by a team of horses. A pumping station (equipped with steam boilers to run the pumps) provided water pressure for the hose wagon. Water was pumped directly into the water mains during times of fire instead of into the reservoir, providing greater pressure in the system than that provided by gravity feed from the reservoir.

The first Willoughby Fire Station was located on River Street and stood between the Town Hall and Methodist Church. Built in 1894, it housed the hose reel. Later, the fire station was located on Second Street and housed the hose wagon and horses. The fire station was then moved to a third location on Glenn Avenue and housed the hose wagon, horses, and for about a year, the first motorized fire truck purchased by the village. In 1922 the Department moved into the Station on Second Street. This station was in service until the mid 1970's.

In the early days of the fire department, a shrieking whistle on the old powerhouse (now a popular restaurant) sounded fire alarms. In 1914, a bell from the old Union Grade School was placed on the Township Hall. The bell was replaced by a siren installed on the Second Street fire station in 1925.

The village received the first motorized fire apparatus in 1921. This truck was an American LaFrance equipped with a 750-gpm rotary gear pump and a 100-gallon on-board water supply. The purchase price for this apparatus was $12,800 and it is still cared for by department personnel.

The first fire fatality in Willoughby was officially recorded in 1918 as a result of a fire that occurred at the Kingsley Inn where plumbers were using a torch to solder pipe. No water pressure was available to fight the fire due to repairs being made to the pumps at the Willoughby Municipal Water Department.