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In
1949, the United States Army decided to move the 6th
Cavalry away from Fort Oglethorpe. When the Army did so
they left a lot of the remains of the base to the
community. One of the items left was a 1941 Chevrolet
fire engine that was used at the base. Since at this
time there was not a municipal government to donate this
engine to, The Army donated the engine to the community.
In 1951, thirteen men got together and
formed a group of people. A group of people, who was
interested in making their Town a safer place in which
to live, and combine their ideas and skills towards
achieving such a goal, the result is bound to success.
Thus, this group was known as the “Volunteer Fire
Department of Fort Oglethorpe.”
In 1953, the Post Fireman’s Club was
formed with twenty-four members. The purpose of the club
was to handle business affairs of the Fire Department by
promoting different projects from which to raise money
to better the equipment being used at that time. It was
known then that all the equipment that the club
purchased, regardless of what it might be, was to be
given to the Town of Fort Oglethorpe when the men of the
club paid for it through their projects. Project One for
the club was the purchase of Fire Engine No. 3,
purchased in the early fall of 1954, this engine took
the place of the 1941 Chevrolet engine left by the Army.
The cost of this engine was $10,000.00.
Project Two was the purchase of a RCA
two-way radio system. The system was purchased by the
Volunteers for the Town of Fort Oglethorpe at a cost of
$3,700.00. The system consisted of a base station of 250
watts and a mobile radio for the fire trucks and the
police car consisting of 55 watts.
Project Three was the pride and joy of
the Volunteers, project #3 was the biggest project that
had ever been taken on at a cost of $50,000.00. Project
Three was the building of the Municipal Building, which
would consist of a Court Room, Police Office, Radio
Room, Mayor’s Office, Utilities Office, jail, mess hall,
bunker room and apparatus room. The project started in
1958 with the plans of this building to have the most
advanced equipment for the time. This equipment to
include air-conditioning through out the building and a
seven telephone system with intercom. After five months
of intense planning, with only one goal in view - to
begin construction - work on the building was started
March 16, 1959. In July, 1959 came the completion of
this major project. The building committee was R. V.
Satterfield, Chairman; N. A. Matula Jr., CO-Chairman; T.
G. Hixon Jr.; A. D. Philips; and D. F. Stevison.
The Fireman’s Club during this time
period, due to the fund raising efforts, became
incorporated as a non-profit organization. The name of
this corporation is “The Post Volunteer Fire Department
Incorporated.” The elected officers of this club was:
Ruben V. Satterfield, President; W. P. (Billy Wagner,
Vice President; Nick Matula, Treasurer; Dennis Stevison,
Secretary; H. P. Hoover, Chaplain; L. B. Nicholson,
Assistant Chaplain; Jimmy Sampley, Historian; and Harold
Cook, Sergeant At Arms.
It was through the purchase of fire
contracts that the Volunteer Fire Department was able to
bring to the surrounding communities the Fort Oglethorpe
Fire protection. These contracts ranged in price from
$10.00 per year on up, according to the kind of property
which was covered. All Churches and Schools were covered
free of charge. The fire contracts, along with other
projects that the fire department sponsors were the
means through which they were able to raise the
necessary funds to buy fire equipment. The fire
department did not answer a fire call outside the City,
unless the party had a fire contract or there was a
human life in danger.
As of 1961, the Department had grown to
having four pieces of apparatus, three engines and one
utility/rescue truck. Harold Cook took over as Fire
Chief in 1963 from Ruben V. Satterfield. By mid 1983 the
department had grown to eight stations; Ft Oglethorpe,
Chattanooga Valley, Rock Spring, Catlett, Naomi, two
south of Lafayette, and one in Boynton. The department
also had 24 pieces of apparatus, ten engines, nine
tankers, three brush trucks, and two ladder trucks. The
department had also grown to having 180 volunteer
firemen. Under the leadership of Harold Cook the
department grew to the largest volunteer fire department
in Georgia.
In September 1983, the Insurance Service
Office came to Fort Oglethorpe and re-rated the fire
protection. The fire rating prior to the re-rating was a
Class 7 in the City. The re-rated class was a Class 4.
During this period the only department in the area that
had a higher class rating was Chattanooga Fire
Department with a Class 3.
Harold Randy Camp took over as Fire Chief
with the retirement of Harold Cook in 1991. Under Chief
Camp’s guidance the department has been able to go away
from the fire subscription service to being county and
city funded. When Walker County started funding the fire
service, they started their own fire service to be
called Walker County Fire & Rescue.
In 1998, Fort Oglethorpe Fire & Rescue
has three stations; Ft Oglethorpe, Boynton, and Mac
Smith Road.. The department has eighty volunteers and
fourteen pieces of apparatus: six engines, two tankers,
two ladder trucks, two rescue trucks, and two squad
trucks. The fire department has also purchased a Cairns
IRIS unit, a thermal imaging unit to assist with Search
and Rescue techniques. The department has also started
an innovative style of teaching fire safety to all ages,
by the use of clowns and puppets. Members have also
received very specialized training to cope with the
problems of today, this training includes but not
limited to: Hazardous Materials, Emergency Medical
Technician, Paramedic, Swift Water Rescue, Fire Safety
Educators, Crash Victim Extrication, Confined Space
Rescue, and High and Low Angle Rope Rescue. Fort
Oglethorpe Fire & Rescue is a department that believes
in tradition and being as advance as possible in
training and equipment.
There are many kinds of volunteers, but
none can match the fireman for complete generosity. He
denotes time he could be spending on pleasures or
projects to benefit himself. He gives money to buy
equipment because sometimes it is the only way to get
it. He offers whatever skills he has to improve his fire
station. He is ready to drop everything and run whenever
one of his neighbors is in trouble. Then, because he
believes so strongly in his cause, spends more time
trying to get others to support it. The fact that he
seeks this support from those he is dedicated to help
should make this his easiest task. But, it isn’t so.
Sometimes he has to prove the need. Sometimes the proof
lies in the smoldering ashes of a house he hasn’t been
able to save. Sometimes he becomes discouraged,
resentful and bitter at the apparent lack of interest in
his cause. But his own belief is not shaken. He is a
fireman. A VOLUNTEER FIREMAN. Such are the dedicated
personnel of Fort Oglethorpe Fire & Rescue.
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