History of the Fire Department

In the Beginning

Sometime around the Civil War the need to have a fire department in the growing City of Fayetteville was recognized. The exact date of its organization is not clear but we know it was sometime around 1870. In 1874 it was recorded that the Fire Department was disbanded due to lack of encouragement of the City. This did not last long due to a report that the first fire wagon was purchased 1897. Fayetteville purchased its first true fire truck in 1917.

The beginning of a Career

Today we don't think twice about the Fayetteville Fire Department being always ready to answer a 911 emergency call. In the 1970s the department began to have problems recruiting volunteer's even when they were being partially paid for their services. During the day when most men worked was the worst response time. Only a handful of men could leave their job to respond to an alarm. During this time the chief and the City saw the need to start the change, so as our volunteers retired career firefighters were hired, beginning our modern Department.

As the City Grew

1n 1964 Station 1 was moved to it's current location, Station 2, the old airport Station 3, and the old north side Station 4 were built. Station 5 was built in 1978 with the intention of being temporary and to be replaced by two new stations five years later, but remains in the same place and structure built at that time. In 1998, Station 3 was replaced with the current station at Drake Field and houses not only Fayetteville's aircraft truck but also a classroom facility for training.

In 1999 fire station #6 was built at 900 Hollywood St. and was staffed by manpower from the airport fire station.  This move, as well as changes at the airport, resulted in the airport fire station being converted into an unmanned response facility.  That same year, fire station #4 was relocated to its current location at 3385 Plainview St.  In May of 2004, fire station #7 was opened at 835 N. Rupple Road to serve the western part of the city.  Station #7 was the first expansion station since 1978.  New fire station #5 is currently being relocated 2 miles north of the original station location at 833 Crossover Rd.  The new location will serve the northeast part of the city and will be open in the summer of 2007.  The new fire station #3 will be located at Happy Hollow & Huntsville Rd.  This expansion station is scheduled to open in the spring of 2008 and will serve the southeastern part of the city.  

In 2005, fire administration developed the Fire Service Expansion Matrix.  This document helps administrators track growth in terms of service demand.  A key component of the Fire Service Expansion Matrix is the use of five triggering points to gauge benchmarks that identify when land for a fire station should be purchased, when construction should be started, etc.  Currently, the northwest part of the city has reached the trigger point prompting officials to begin searching for land to build fire station #8 sometime in the future.  For more information about the Fayetteville Fire Department, the Fire Service Expansion Matrix, or the 2003 Fire Station Concept and Deployment Plan, contact fire administration at 575-8365.