Forest Grove Fire and Rescue

Forest Grove started a volunteer fire department on February 4, 1894, with combination of two fire companies.[3][4] The department was created after bucket brigades were determined to be inefficient, and the two fire companies spent too much time fighting each other.[3] One of the first chiefs was J. G. Lenneville, who was first elected to the post in 1901, and served through at least 1923.[5][6] In December 1907, the city purchased a hose wagon for $100.[3] The city replaced the fire bell that had been housed at a church and at the Old College Hall at Pacific University with an electric siren in October 1925.[3] A 1907 steamer used by the Portland Fire Bureau was bought by Forest Grove in 1933 for $150, and is still owned by the fire department.[7]

In 1956, the Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District merged into Forest Grove Fire Department.[8] Following the May 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens, the city used the department to clean the ash off of city streets.[9] As of 1980, the Rural District covered 88 square miles (230 km²) and paid 39% of the combined entities' costs, though split capital expenditures at 50–50.[8] At that time the combined department had 11 paid and 45 volunteer firefighters.[8]

One of the largest fires in the city came on July 14, 1982, when four downtown stores were burned, which required four alarms to contain.[10] Firefighters from Gaston, Banks, Hillsboro, Cornelius, and Washington County Fire District 2 all helped put out the fire that caused $800,000 in damage.[10][11] By 1983 the Rural District had shrunk to 80 square miles (210 km²) with 6,000 residents.[12] The department converted an old 1973 Seagrave into a new pumper truck in 1984, saving $40,000 over buying a new piece of apparatus.[13]

The Spring Break Quake in 1993 damaged the main fire station on Ash Street in downtown, which was later repaired.[14] In late 2006 and early 2007 the department was surrounded by turmoil concerning then chief Bob Mills as well as forgeries by Gary Clay Davis on fire inspection reports.[15] The city was contracted by neighboring Cornelius in 2010 to provide administrative support to that city's combined city and rural fire department.[4] In 2012, the department added living quarters to Station 7 in Gales Creek.[16]

Main station on Ash Street

The department maintains two stations. The main station is located in downtown Forest Grove on Ash Street, which also houses the 1907 American LaFrance steamer.[7] A second station is located in rural Gales Creek west of the city.[17] The Gales Creek station, number 7, is staffed entirely by volunteers.[17]

Forest Grove Fire is led by Fire Chief Michael Kinkade. The service area for the rural district includes the communities of Gales Creek, Dilley, and Verboort.[1] For 2013, the Department had a total of 3,307 service calls, of which 2,297 were for emergency medical services and only 110 for fires.[1] Of the 3,307 total calls, 2,794 were in the City of Forest Grove, while 408 were in the Rural Protection District.[1]