Early fire fighting began with volunteers
The Atlanta Fire Company No. 1 fire station began operations in 1851, three years after the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department was formed. However, in the surrounding communities fighting fires remained an effort of their citizens well into the twentieth century. Some areas had a group of volunteers ready to fight fires. Often a school or church bell was rung to notify people of a fire.
In 1935, a large fire at Elizabeth Way and Canton Road in Roswell destroyed most of the businesses along Elizabeth Way. The firefighters called to the scene came from the Buckhead station of Atlanta’s fire department. Roswell decided to form their own volunteer fire department.
The group was organized by February 27, 1937. There were twenty-seven members led by Chief C. W. Hughs. The group operated with a two-wheel vehicle, which held a tank filled with soda and acid. The vehicle was kept behind City Hall and the fire siren was on top of City Hall. When the fire siren sounded, the vehicle was pulled behind a truck to the scene of the fire. Another person would ride around town blowing a horn and alerting the community that there was a fire. A modern fire truck was purchased by the town in 1949 for $8,000. (Roswell Pictorial History Book, 1974)
The Sandy Springs Volunteer Fire Department was organized in 1957 and went into action that same year. Henry Curth, Jim Gonia, Sr., John Vickers, and Jimmie Childs were early members of the volunteer group. One of the mishaps of the Sandy Springs Volunteer Fire Department was the day a member’s foot was run over by the fire truck.
The Atlanta Constitution reported that the Sandy Springs Volunteer Fire Department were called to a home off Long Island Drive on December 11, 1957. When they arrived, the home was too far gone to be saved but the group kept the fire from spreading beyond the home. Henry Curth commented to the reporter that their efforts were slowed by a frozen ax handle and other frozen equipment. The Atlanta Fire Department was also called to the scene.
The DeKalb County Fire Department began in 1934 as the Druid Hills Fire Department. This was a subscription service for the Druid Hills neighborhoods. A 1934 fire engine that was known by the name Old Maude was purchased by J. V. Draughn, the owner of this private fire service.
DeKalb County purchased the Druid Hills Fire Department in 1937 and began expanding service from the original Old No. 1 station on North Decatur Road to all parts of the county. As the population exploded in the county the DeKalb Fire Department grew to include twelve fire engines and more than seventy employees. (Historic DeKalb County An Illustrated History, 2008, Vivian Price)
A new fire station was constructed in Brookhaven in 1947, as part of the DeKalb County Fire Department. The station was a two-story building at 7009 Peachtree Road with two fire trucks. The second level housed four fire fighters. The Brookhaven Civic Association worked to bring the fire station to the community. (Atlanta Constitution, May 28,1947, New Station to Take Bows at Brookhaven)
Dunwoody also had a group of volunteer fire fighters according to long-time resident Carlton Renfroe, although they may have been less organized. The DeKalb County Fire Station on Roberts Drive in Dunwoody was built prior to 1968. Some may remember an old yellow two-story farmhouse once sat in this location before the fire station.