History of the Shiloh County Fire Department

Founded January 1st, 1943

Shiloh County Fire Department was officially founded on January 1st, 1943 when three existing fire departments merged. Faced with a severe shortage of manpower due to World War II, the Fort Shannon Fire Department, Oxnard Fire Department, and the Shiloh Rural Fire District merged in an effort to share manpower, decrease overhead costs, and consolidate resources. Shiloh Rural Fire District was already administered by Shiloh County in an effort to provide rural citizens with fire coverage, and Shiloh County maintained control of the merged fire departments. With the municipal areas of Fort Shannon and Oxnard now included, the merged department was named the Shiloh County Fire Department.

The department originally contained 7 fire stations - four in Fort Shannon, one in unincorporated Arcadia, one in unincorporated Essex, and one in Oxnard. The original apparatus lineup was six engine companies, two ladder companies, a salvage company, and one rescue company, plus a variety of chief’s cars and utilities. Shiloh County quickly set to work consolidating resources, selling off many of the chief's cars and utilities, as well as the salvage company, one engine company, and the Essex fire station.

Shiloh County FD remained relatively stagnant throughout the 40s and 50s, improving and upgrading apparatus and equipment. The four Fort Shannon stations were consolidated into two, and the other stations sold back to the city. In 1962, Delmore Fire Department was absorbed into the county fire service. Delmore FD had been struggling under budget constraints and a high fire volume, and saw a merger as a way to improve their situation.

In 1973, after the widespread success of the television show Emergency!, Chief of Department Jonathan DeSoto expressed interest in establishing a paramedic program in Shiloh County. Working with Shiloh County Hospital and Crescent Falls University, Shiloh County Fire Department held their first paramedic class in 1975. The department initially followed the Los Angeles County model - placing paramedics on quick-response rescue squads throughout the county. Ambulance service in the county was a patchwork. Shiloh County Hospital operated an ambulance service in their area, Fort Shannon First Aid Squad operated an ambulance, and funeral homes and private services across the county operated ambulances. Fire Department paramedics would respond with whichever ambulance service, and if needed, accompany the patient to the hospital to provide treatment.

Shiloh County entered the ambulance business in 1982 with the absorption of Essex Fire Department, who operated an ambulance in their district. SCFD continued to allow all other ambulance services to operate, maintaining the Essex ambulance but not expanding their service. The Essex unit was the first paramedic ambulance in the county, with the Essex-area paramedic squad being removed and the staff placed on the ambulance instead.

The following year, SCFD was approached by the Fort Shannon First Aid Squad. The First Aid Squad did not have paramedics, only basic-level ambulances, and they felt county paramedics were stepping on toes by not allowing First Aid Squad members to treat patients. Shiloh County had been looking to expand their ambulance service, and decided there was no time like the present. The First Aid Squad’s business license was pulled, and it was promptly purchased by the county and merged into Shiloh County Fire Department. Shiloh County now operated three ambulances - two in Fort Shannon and one in Essex, with a patchwork of other services across the area. SCFD ceased to allow other ambulance services to operate on emergency calls in SCFD EMS’ coverage area unless requested as mutual aid.

In 1988, Shiloh County made the decision to transfer Shiloh County Hospital Ambulance Service to the Fire Department, consolidating the service. All employees remained with the county, and it was an amicable transfer of command. SCFD began operating an additional two ambulances with the new units and employees. All area funeral homes had ceased providing ambulance service, with SCFD EMS units filling in the uncovered areas.

Over the next ten years, SCFD improved their ambulance service. SCFD began replacing paramedic squads with paramedic ambulances, although two paramedic squads were retained. In 1999, Arcadia Fire Department merged with the SCFD, bringing all of the county except for Clinton and Kimberly under one department. Clinton used SCFD EMS for EMS coverage, but Kimberly contracted with Metro Star Ambulance Service to provide coverage for their town. Also in 1999, SCFD replaced the aging South Fort Shannon fire station.

Over the next five years, Clinton VFD began to struggle. Funding was not keeping up, and staffing problems began to show. In 2004, they made the decision to merge with ERT, and in a move unlike the other departments that had been absorbed, Clinton was given its own division, with a chief that reports directly to the SCFD Fire Chief, instead of the Deputy Chief of Fire Operations.

In 2006, SCFD constructed a new fire station in north Fort Shannon in order to replace the existing station from the 1930s. SCFD has continued to work to improve their equipment, apparatus, and staffing.