Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District
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| Operational area | |
|---|---|
| Country |
 United States
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| State |
 Oregon
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| City | Forest Grove |
| Agency overview | |
| Established | February 4, 1894 |
| Annual calls | 3,307 (2013) |
| Employees | 21 (Career - 2015) |
| Annual budget | $3,265,402 (2015) |
| Staffing | Combination |
| Fire chief | Michael Kinkade |
| Website | |
| www |
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Forest Grove Fire and Rescue is the municipal fire department for the city of Forest Grove, Oregon. Started in 1894, the department has two stations used to provide fire fighting and emergency medical services to both the city and the Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District. The department also provides administrative support to the neighboring Cornelius Fire Department.
Forest Grove started a volunteer fire department on February 4, 1894, with combination of two fire companies. The department was created after bucket brigades were determined to be inefficient, and the two fire companies spent too much time fighting each other. One of the first chiefs was J. G. Lenneville, who was first elected to the post in 1901, and served through at least 1923. In December 1907, the city purchased a hose wagon for $100. 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. 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.
In 1956, the Forest Grove Rural Fire Protection District merged into Forest Grove Fire Department. Following the May 1980 eruptions of Mount St. Helens, the city used the department to clean the ash off of city streets. 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. At that time the combined department had 11 paid and 45 volunteer firefighters.
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. Firefighters from Gaston, Banks, Hillsboro, Cornelius, and Washington County Fire District 2 all helped put out the fire that caused $800,000 in damage. By 1983 the Rural District had shrunk to 80 square miles (210 km2) with 6,000 residents. The department converted an old 1973 Seagrave into a new pumper truck in 1984, saving $40,000 over buying a new piece of apparatus.
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Wikipedia