Warren Township Fire Department

Proudly serving the residents of Warren Township, Ohio since 1941

Warren Township Fire Department History

1941-present

November 17th, 1941 -
Warren Township Fire Department & Warren Township Volunteer Fireman's Association was Founded

Charter Members: Millard Galloway - Fire Chief, Milton Poulton - Asst. Fire Chief, Ray Balentine - Cpt., Nelson Donley - Cpt., Francis Fletcher - Association President, Floyd Williams - Vice President, George Stoddard - Secretary, Virgil Seck - Treasurer.

Foster Sucy, Fearon J. Fleming, Virgil Mansell, Richard Sharp, Carl Burkhardt, Clayton Galloway, Edward Myers, John Vingle, Paul Clemmens, William Hann, William Marsh Jr., John Vingle Jr., Glen Dietelbach, Earl Kaler, Ray Phillips, John York, Al Engster, Kenny Lee, William Raines, John Williams.

The department that was set up was one in which an association worked with the township to provide services. The association would recruit, hire, train, and fire; the township would provide the buildings, equipment, and tax funding.

September 25th, 1942
Delivery of our First Fire Apparatus

On this day a 1942 Mack Fire Apparatus with a 500 GPM pump was delivered by Love's Garage for a price of $6,380. Pictured is the delivery of the truck (from left to right): Francis Fletcher - Association President, Millard Galloway - Fire Chief, R. Thompson - Township Clerk, Bill Miller - Road Sup. & Mr. Love - Salesman. Standing on the ground (Left to right) are Warren Township Trustees Wm. R. Chapman & Frank Klingensmith.

1941 - 1942
First Fire Station utilized by the volunteers.

The location of the first fire station was near the intersection of S. Leavitt Rd & W. Market St in Leavittsburg.

January 3rd, 1944

On this day, the Warren Township Volunteer Fire Department and Warren Township Volunteer Fireman's Association qualified for membership in the Ohio State Volunteer Fireman's Association.

1950 - West Market Station 1 built

In 1950, the West Market Station was built. It was originally a 4 bay door station built across from the high school on the bank of the Mahoning river. Around this time, WTFD started to provided ems transport services.

1961 - Dover St Station 2 built

In 1961, Warren Township decided to better serve the residents of the township, that a 2nd station was needed. It was built for $34,000. Trustees: Cash E. Fox, Roy A. Green, & Robert D. VIngle. Clerk: Carl J. Burkhart. Fire Chief J. R. Balentine.

1968 - Brookside Station 3 Built

A 3rd station was built, in 1968, to cover the northern part of the township. Trustees: David W. Blahu, Stanley O. Haymaker, Albert J. Myers. Clerk: Robert D. Vingle. Fire Chief: J. R. Balentine.

1960s-1980s - Station expansion and upgrades

Station 1 and station 2 were expanded. 2 double deep bays were added onto station 1, and a meeting room and basement were added onto station 2. Station 3 had remodeling done.

1990

3 Identical Pierce fire apparatus were purchased by the township, one for each station. Having 3 identical 1250 GPM, 1000 gallon engines made it much easier for any member to learn and adapt to being at a different station.

1994 - Started Staffing a Duty Crew

By 1994, the demand for EMS rose and it was decided to staff an EMS crew at station 1. Staffing was originally provided for 16 hours a day and was later expanded in the 2000s to 24 hour coverage. 1994 was also the last year in which Warren Township provided dispatching services.

2014 - New Ice & Water Rescue Equipment

New Ice & Water Rescue equipment, along with training, which helped certify and prepare responders to better handle specialized emergencies in the township. (Also note that in the 2000s, Trumbull county renumbered the fire stations to reduce confusion. Station 1, 2, & 3 became station 47, 48, & 49 respectively.

2018

After all 3 stations were built, this is the only known occurrence in which all of Warren Township Fire Department's equipment was photographed together.

2019-2020 - Volunteers become paid per call.

After 78 years, Warren Township Volunteer Fireman's Association voted to no longer be the employer of the volunteers. All volunteers became employees of the township and started a paid per call system. The association remained as a non-profit 501C3 organization to further the goals of the department as a whole and continue involvement in the community. The association continues to provide services to the community, members of the department and provides a scholarship to students at the local school district. With this change from the association, this allowed the staffed duty crew to staff fire apparatus as well as EMS.