Wichita Fire Department

Started as a volunteer fire company on February 14, 1871, the Wichita Fire Department celebrated its 113th year as a paid department on August 23, 1999. The first salaried employee was A.G. Walden, appointed the City's first Fire Marshall in 1886. By the time Station No. 4 went up at Seneca and Douglas in 1888, firefighters were alerted to a fire either telephone or by the activation of electric alarm boxes situated around the City. In 1894, the first black firefighter, Charles Shoots, was hired. Two years later, G.W. "Cap" Robinson joined the force and in 1920 became the first African American to hold the position of Captain.
In the spring of 1872, a formal volunteer fire department was formed, called the "Frontier Fire Company". The city's first paid employee was a young man named Charlie Fuller who was the "torch boy". For $8 per month, he ran ahead of the firemen with a torch, "yelling for everyone to get out of the way."
Through donations, the city purchased the first hook and ladder truck and housed it in the first fire house, a small frame building at 220 N. Market. The firemen had to pay for the alarm bell out of their own pockets. Fire House number 2 was constructed at 232 S. Topeka in 1885 and new equipment was purchased. Firemen began receiving pay for their services - $1 for each night run and $1.50 for each day run. They were issued uniforms consisting of a black rubber coat, rubber boots, and a huge rubber helmet.
Motorized equipment was introduced in 1909. By 1918, the transition from horses (whose drivers were not only required to care for but also sleep next to), to gasoline power was complete, making the Wichita Fire Department the first completely motorized department in the United States and the second in the world.