History of the Fullerton Fire Department

On an April morning in 1908, Fullerton residents were roused from their slumber by a horseback rider racing through the streets firing a six-shooter and shouting "fire!"

Three structures on the southwest corner of Amerige Avenue and Spadra Road (now Harbor Boulevard) caught fire, the blaze was threatening to spread throughout the downtown.

After citizens tried unsuccessfully to stop the flames, a call went out to Anaheim, which sent its sole piece of firefighting equipment - a horse-drawn cart carrying 600 feet of hose. But calamity struck when the citizens, racing to hook Anaheim's hose to Fullerton's only hydrant, found the hose threads did not match those on the hydrant.

Undaunted, the residents formed a bucket brigade and managed to bring the fire under control, but not before much of the block had been razed. "Had the wind been blowing, it is believed the whole business part of town would have been consumed by fire as the city has absolutely no fire protection," reported the "Orange County Tribune," a newspaper of the day.

As embers of the fire still glowed, the residents quickly called a town meeting to discuss fire protection and start planning for a fire department. In a report filed April 17, 1908, "the group cited a plan for obtaining water, recommended purchase of 1,200 to 1,500 feet of `good quality' hose and announced that between $1,500 and $1,600" had already been pledged by local businesses to fund a department, writes Fullerton historian Bob Ziebell in "Fullerton: A Pictorial History."

On Aug. 5, 1908, the "Orange County Tribune" reported the enrollment of volunteer fire company members. Emerson J. Marks, the city attorney, was named chairman of the group, and O.J. Harvey took on the role of secretary. On Aug. 10, 1908, the Fullerton Fire Department was formally organized, with O.S. Erickson elected its first chief, and Emerson Marks and Gus Stern appointed first and second assistant chiefs, respectively.

Local shops fabricated a hook and ladder wagon and two hose carts. The good citizens of Fullerton had also outfitted their new department with three nozzles, a hand-pulled hook-and-ladder truck, two hand extinguishers, a fire bell, a hand-pulled 60-gallon chemical fire engine, and two fire plugs. The City entered into an agreement with a privately owned water company to provide a water distribution system.

Fullerton's first "fire station"
(Photo courtesy of Fullerton Public Library)

Five years later, the voters approved a $5,000 bond issue which enabled the City to purchase its first motorized engine - a 1913 Seagrave combination ladder, hose, and chemical truck.

The first "fire station" was a small, wooden building located in the 100 block of W. Amerige. In 1909, the building was moved to the 300 block of N. Spadra, between Wilshire and Whiting avenues.

With the arrival of the first motorized engine, a building was rented in the 200 block of N. Spadra to house it, while the City contracted for the lower floor of a nearby building to house the truck's volunteer driver and his family. In 1924, the equipment was moved around the corner onto W. Amerige and into a sheet metal building.

The Wilshire building, opened in 1926, served double-duty as firehouse and City Hall
(Photo courtesy of Fullerton Public Library)

The City's first formal firehouse was opened in 1926 in the 100 block of W. Wilshire Ave., and the Firefighters shared the space with City employees as the upstairs served as City Hall. The Firefighters were able to occupy the entire building and add sleeping quarters when, in 1942, the "new" City Hall (now the Fullerton Police Department) was opened on the northeast corner of Commonwealth and Highland avenues.

The Wilshire structure remained Fullerton's only fire station until 1953 when Station 2 opened at Brookhurst Street and Valencia Drive, to serve the west side of the city. Station 3, 700 S. Acacia Ave., was added in 1958.

Thanks to generous voters, a bond issue was passed in the mid-1960s which allowed the Department to build a new Fire Headquarters (Station 1), which opened in 1966 at 312 E. Commonwealth. The old Wilshire firehouse was leveled.

The bond issue also allowed the City to add Station 4, 3251 N. Harbor Blvd., and Station 5, 2555 Yorba Linda Blvd. Station 6, 1500 N. Gilbert St., joined the line-up in 1968. However, by the end of 2004, Station 6 will move into a brand-new facility - an 11,000-square-foot, $3.4 million, state-of-the-art building which is being built for the City by Centex Homes, Suncal and Chevron Land and Development.

Artist's rendering of the new Station 6

Fullerton's six stations house one ladder truck, five front-line engines, and four reserve engines, with a minimum staffing of one Battalion Chief supervising 24 on-duty Firefighters. Five engines and the truck are staffed 24 hours per day. Five of those engines are Paramedic-staffed and equipped.

Always progressive, the Department's history is filled with many "firsts," dating back to 1916 when it received the first resuscitator equipment in Orange County. In 1919, the Department purchased the first triple combination truck in the County.

As the decades passed, the "firsts" continued, including being one of the first Orange County fire departments to recognize the importance of providing Paramedic service for its citizens. Fullerton's first Firefighter/Paramedics went on duty in 1974 and continue to be an integral part of the Department.

Almost a century after its founding, the Fullerton Fire Department stands ready to serve.

Fullerton is also the first Department in Orange County to use 12-LEAD EKG "heart monitors" on its Paramedic engines. The monitors, made possible through a pilot program with St. Jude Medical Center, provide more detailed information on a patient's condition than the 3-LEAD EKGs used by other departments, and has become the standard throughout the state.

An active and important component of the Fullerton Fire Family is the Fullerton Firefighters' Association, Local 3421, which was formed on August 16, 1960. The FFA sponsors a variety of activities for its members, and enthusiastically supports many community programs such as Pinktober, a month-long event for cancer awareness.

Global, national, and local issues have forced fire operations and fire management in Fullerton and Brea to evolve. Faced with a year-long fire season, the need to build human and fiscal capital during the COVID-19 Global Pandemic and changing needs of each community Brea and Fullerton re-established their independent fire departments in 2022.