History of the Gilt Edge Volunteer Fire Department

     A series of community meetings were held in December of 1985, January and February of 1986 to see if there was a desire to establish a Fire Department. The city passed an ordinance establishing the Gilt Edge Fire Department in March of 1986.  In that same month fourteen people took a basic firefighting class.  Currently there is only one original firefighter remaining from the original fourteen, the current chief. The departments operations began in May of 1986, in which the first call was received...a car fire.

 To alert of a fire, a fire phone was answered at Turnages Grocery from 7am-7pm and from 7pm-7am calls where forwarded to a members house.  They called a phone number to set off tone pagers, then everyone reported to the station.  The first one to the station then called dispatch to see what the call was.

 The fire departments' first Engine was a 1959 GMC Pumper, which was known as Engine 1. The first tanker was an old Ford F-500 bought at a farm auction for $500 and converted. In 1992 two members of the Fire Department went to EMT school, so in case of firefighter injury there would be medically trained personnel on scene to assist the firefighter. 

 In 1994 a group of members went through first responder training and on Christmas Eve of 1994, Gilt Edge Fire Department First Responder Operations began.   In April of 2006, the fire department established the nightly on call program. Each night there are 3 on call personnel that respond to any medical calls and to guarantee a crew in case of any other emergency.

Click here for a list of all current and formers members