Indianapolis Fire Department

The first fire department in Indianapolis was not founded until June 20, 1826. It was a volunteer department that had to use a church bell for alarms, and had only ladders and leather buckets to fight fires. This was seventeen months after the first recorded fire in Indianapolis occurred on January 17, 1825, which took place in a tavern across the street from the county courthouse.[3]

In 1835, a law was passed requiring the purchase of an engine, along with better equipment, to be partially funded by the state and partially by the city, in order to protect the Indiana Statehouse. From this, the Marion Fire, Hose, and Protection Company was established. An additional volunteer company was founded in 1841 and there were eight total volunteer companies in Indianapolis by 1859. Collectively, 600 men were volunteers in these eight companies, and although unpaid, they did receive perks such as immunity from being called on juries or militia duty, and not having to pay poll taxes or taxes for roads.[4]

The volunteer companies were rather political, and tended to express their views freely. They were also known to break into brothels and freely use their hoses on the clientele and the interior walls, wrecking the places; this was done not for moral reasons, but rather, to amuse themselves.[5] As a result, Mayor Samuel D. Maxwell and the Indianapolis City Council established a paid force on November 14, 1859, so that the council could have control over Indianapolis' fire protection, which it did not have over the volunteers. Maxwell was considered the father of the Indianapolis Fire Force and faced only slight criticism for the idea, although it was not widely popular at this time with the former volunteers. The Indianapolis Fire Department began with a hook and ladder company and two hand engines, but would in 1860 gain their first steam engine.[6]

The former IFD Headquarters at 301 E. New York Street is on the National Register of Historic Places.

The paid firemen had no days off, were not allowed to leave their post except for one meal, and were seldom allowed to leave the firehouse unless on fire business or a family emergency. An ordinance in 1859 made it illegal to give firemen alcoholic beverages. Their clothes were irregular; uniforms were not worn until 1874, with a regulation uniform established in 1928. Firemen had to buy their own uniforms until 1943, when a $60 clothing allowance was established. An attempt to remove politics from the fire department was not very successful; it was necessary to mandate that the department staff be half Republican and half Democrat, and the role of fire chief was based on political affiliation and family contacts.[7]

The first dog to discover arson for the Indianapolis Fire Department was acquired in July 1993.[8]

Since 2007, several the fire departments in the eight townships in Marion County other than Center Township that were not previously part of the IFD coverage area have been absorbed by IFD. As of 2016, five of the eight township fire departments have merged with IFD:[9]

• Washington Township, January 2007
• Warren Township, July 2007
• Perry Township, August 2009
• Franklin Township, July 2010
• Lawrence Township, January 2011

The three townships retaining their own fire departments as of 2019 are all on the west side of Marion County.

• Decatur Township
• Pike Township
• Wayne Township

There are currently fourteen Divisions of Operations within the Indianapolis Fire Department: Communications, Emergency Operations, Emergency Medical Services, Executive Services, Finance and Pension, Fire Investigations Section, Fire and Life Safety, Homeland Security/Special Operations and Training, Quartermaster, Information Technology, Media Relations, Safety, Support Services, and USAR Indiana Task Force One. There are 7 Battalions under the command of a Battalion Chief. The International Association of Firefighters (IAFF) Local is 416.[10]