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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.

Kimberly Volunteer Fire-Rescue Founded 1947 Staff - 25 volunteers and a chief Apparatus - Engine 1 (1990 ALF Century), Tanker 1 (1986 F700), Utility 1 (1992 Chevy Suburban), Mini Pumper 1 (1995 Ford F-350 Mini Pumper), Car 1 (2019 Chevy Tahoe), Car 11 (1992 Crown Victoria Kimberly VFR was founded as Kimberly Community Volunteer Fire Company in 1947, as a reaction to the Ponderosa Lumber Yard Fire of 1946. Previously, fire protection in the area had been essentially non-existent, and it had resulted in a total loss of one of the area’s largest lumber yards. A committee of World War II veterans formed and began gathering donations from community residents as well as lumber yards and other local businesses. A piece of land was donated by the rail yard, and a two-bay shed was built. The Kimberly Community Volunteer Fire Company was incorporated with William Roberts serving as the first fire chief, and the department used the remaining funds donated by the lumber yards and community to purchase and equip two pumpers: an American LaFrance 700 series and a Mack LF. A fire siren was mounted on the town water tower, and Mrs. Roberts began serving as the department’s dispatcher. To report a fire in the Kimberly community, someone would dial the switchboard operator, who would then transfer them to Mrs. Roberts. She would take the information and sound the fire siren, summoning the volunteers to the station, located just half a block from the Roberts residence. The department’s original roster listed fifty men, nearly all World War II veterans and most of them rail or lumber company employees. The department maintained a daily duty roster, and the mills, railyard, and lumber yards would release the duty members when the fire siren sounded. This arrangement worked well for the fire department for the first ten years. In 1957, a bill creating Ponderosa Pines State Park was signed into law. Overnight, the lumber industry around Kimberly saw itself slide into bankruptcy, with the largest forests in the area falling under state protection and oversight. Many of the lumber yards and mills shuttered overnight, putting employees out of work. Several of the lumber yards remained in operation due to owning large tracts of forest outside of the new state park, and the rail yard remained open to support the lumber mills, as well as the industrial city of Clinton. Firefighters that had previously worked at the lumber mills in Kimberly now were having to commute to Clinton, Crescent Falls, or farther for work. They were no longer able to leave work and respond to fire calls, and the duty roster had to be abandoned. Response began to depend on whoever was available. In 1965, KCVFC began to look for a new station site, deciding that they wanted a newer building with more bays and more space. They purchased the site of their current station and constructed a two-story block building with three double-deep bays. The department also purchased their first brush truck, a 1962 International Harvester with a privately fabricated tank and pump. Their membership wavered lower than it had been at the department’s peak, dipping down to around 30 men. Two years later in 1967, the department replaced their aging Mack pumper with a 1965 American LaFrance 900 series. They moved their original LaFrance engine to reserve status and sold the Mack. In 1970, the department acquired their first chief’s car, a surplus Chevrolet Impala from Saratoga State Police. The department scraped by throughout the next several decades, with nothing of note happening until December of 1980. On Christmas Eve 1980, a prominent businessman from Fort Shannon was traveling through Kimberly on his way home from an out of town business trip. He struck a patch of black ice on Tall Pine Road, losing control of his vehicle and striking a tree. When Kimberly Community VFC arrived on scene, they found the businessman to be entrapped. They called for Shiloh County Fire Department to respond with extrication equipment, but due to snowy conditions and the distance, it took over thirty minutes for SCFD Rescue 2 to arrive on scene. The businessman tragically died while Kimberly CVFC tried to cut him out with hand tools during the wait for SCFD assistance. The next year, the businessman’s family donated a 1966 Maxim rescue truck. The donation also included a HURST Model JL-32 Jaws of Life. This was the first set of hydraulic extrication equipment in Shiloh County east of Oxnard town limits. In 1979, the department replaced the Internal Harvester brush truck with a Dodge pickup with a privately fabricated skid unit. In 1985, the fire department changed their name to Kimberly Volunteer Fire-Rescue, choosing to move away from the Fire Company name. In 1986, the department purchased their a tanker. It was home-built on a 1984 Ford F700 by members of the department. In 1988, Kimberly VFR experienced their first and to-date only line of duty death. Two firemen were responding to a woods fire in the 1947 LaFrance reserve engine when they lost control and rolled the vehicle, killing them both. Shiloh County FD responded to the accident due to Kimberly being tied up with the woods fire. Both firemen were deceased when Shiloh County Sheriff’s Department deputies arrived on scene. In 1990, the department purchased an engine to replace the destroyed LaFrance. They chose to remain with ALF and purchased a 1990 American LaFrance Century. It was placed into frontline service and the 1965 American LaFrance was donated to the Saratoga State Fire Museum. In 1995, the department replaced the brush truck with an F series rescue body minipumper. In 1998, the department purchased a 1992 Suburban for use as a utility truck and a 1992 Ford Crown Victoria to replace the aging chief's car. In 2018, the department purchased their newest apparatus, a 2019 Chevy Tahoe chief’s car. Recent years have seen the department struggling to fill seats on the apparatus, with fewer and fewer young people showing interest in the volunteer fire service. The membership continues to age, but continue to provide the best service they are capable of.