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On October 22, 1925, the
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved the formation of the Elverta
Fire District and also approved Chas A. Anderson, Edward N. Stillwell, and
Albert Scheidel to become the first Fire Commissioners. On January 24, 1926,
the Elverta Fire District signed papers with the American LaFrance Fire
Engine Company to purchase a Graham Brothers LaFrance (with four “Champion”
chemical tanks) fire engine. This paperwork was signed by Albert Scheidel,
Edward N. Stillwell, and Chas A. Anderson. On February 24, 1926, the
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors minutes show that the special
election, held in Elverta, for the purpose of voting on the purchase of fire
equipment was presented, and approved. Sixty-one people in Elverta voted in
favor of purchasing a fire truck and 17 voted against it. It is a mystery as
to whatever became of this fire truck and the fire department whose
incorporation was approved. The Board of Supervisor minutes do not show the
department was dissolved and there are no other references to Elverta having
a fire department until 1944, when they again requested incorporation
approval. According to families living in that area, at no time was there
ever a fire truck used to put out any fires until the purchase of the 1930
Graham Dodge truck in 1944.
For the next 20 years,
when someone saw smoke, everyone would grab gunny (feed) sacks and drive
their vehicles to the fire. Wilma Dyer, a long-time Elverta resident,
remembers the Model T’s driving down the road, honking their horns, and the
women running out with buckets of water to hand to the drivers so they could
fight fire. Later, the men used their pickups with barrels of water in the
back of their trucks and fought the fire with the wet gunnysacks. When the
gunnysacks caught on fire, you put them back into the water barrel, put out
the fire on the sack, and continued beating the fire. Later they also used
five-gallon Indian back cans, which they carried on their back. It had an
attached hose with a pump nozzle that squirted water to put out the fire.
When folks had an emergency, they went to the Elverta Plunge (the local
Community Center and swimming pool) and the word got out to all of the
farmers to come help.
On June 7, 1939, Roger
Sisler, 16, was killed in a freak accident. Just 24 hours before he was to
have graduated from Grant Union High School, the youth had been fighting a
grain fire on the Arthur Chaffin place, east of Elverta, and had gone to a
pickup truck carrying a barrel of water to get a drink. As Sisler was
standing on the truck, it was hit by a passing auto. The impact threw the
boy from the vehicle, and the heavy barrel toppled on him, breaking his
neck.
On April 12, 1944, a
hearing was held by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors to consider
the petition for the formation of the Elverta Fire District. The fire
commissioners were Paul Endean, Wade Perry, and T. J. Collins. The Elverta
Fire District and commissioners were approved at this time.
In 1944, Charles Scheidel,
Wade Perry and George Anderson worked together to purchase a 1930 Graham
Dodge from PG&E in Rio Vista. The truck was then sent to Van Pelt for
remodification to their specifications. In August 1944, the truck was ready
for use. It had a 250-gallon Champion pump. “One of the worst pumps made,”
said Bob Bollinger. It dripped all the time. It had a tank on the back and a
couple of reels (with soft hose).
Those involved with
forming the Elverta Fire District were: Charles Scheidel, Tom Collins, Wade
Perry, George Anderson, Johnny Mott, Erwin Brown, Walter Strauch, Clair
Mortensen, and Frank Smith.
On December 27, 1945,
George and Cora Anderson sold a piece of property on Baldwin Street near the
Northern Electric Railway for use as the main fire station. (This street is
now called Elverta Road, and the area is the intersection of Elverta Road
and Rio Linda Boulevard). A siren was installed with a button on the outside
of the building – the first person to hear of the fire, ran to the station
and pushed the button to activate the siren, so everyone would know there
was an emergency and come running.
They had one fire truck
in Elverta at Station One and one at Station Two at Clair Mortensen’s home
on Elverta Road near 28th Street. He and his son, Charlie, stored an engine
at their home and responded to the emergencies from the east end of the
District. The third station was on Lawrence Vestle’s property, on Newton and
Locust. The area covered was from Watt Avenue to the Western Pacific
Railroad tracks and from “U” Street to the County line on the north.
The first fire chief is
unknown. He only stayed with the District for two months, and was replaced
by Clair Mortensen. Clair served from 1944 to 1945, as he felt he lived too
far away to be able to do a good job. Jim Smith was the next fire chief and
served until 1956, when he turned the reins over to Walter Strauch, who
owned the broom factory. The next Fire Chief’s were Robert Speer, Jim
McGrew, Red Sheppard and Clarence Zine.
The known fire equipment
was:
Engine 00 was a 1930
Graham
Engine 1 was a 1947
International; was primarily a grass unit, six-cylinder main engine with a
289 Ford driving the pump.
Engine 2 was a GMC – it
was primarily a grass rig.
Engine 3 was a GMC/Howe –
it was used for grass and as a structure rig.
Engine 4 was a Howe Fire
Equipment Model FC-HRT, GMC BV4010 w/V6 180 HP engine, a Waterous CH-2 750
GPM pump driven by International U308 industrial engine and a 600-gallon
booster tank.
March 7, 1965, Elverta
Fire District purchased their first resuscitator and some additional first
aid supplies.
In the 1960’s the firemen
annually elected the Fire Chief. The Chief was paid a token. The
commissioner and directors got $10 per month.
The Elverta Firemen
Association’s Ladies Auxiliary started in 1961 with 15 to 20 women. The
group assisted fire personnel in everything from pouring coffee at a fire
scene to fundraising for equipment to stock the group’s van. Each time there
has been a consolidation; the women’s auxiliary has been included. They
respond to emergencies at any hour of the day when requested by the Incident
Commander. Some of the women that have been involved are Wilma Dyer, Shirley
Breckenridge, Lori Dyer, Shirley Barnes, Sadie Zine and Bonnie Zine.
A new water tanker was
purchased by the District and added to the Elwyn Avenue Station, and land
was acquired on Elverta Road near 16th Street. The Fire District purchased
and moved a Citrus Heights fire station and large mobile home for sleeping
quarters onto the new Station 117 land. The fire station was later named the
Robert Speer Fire Station.
The area in Elverta was
growing, and it got to the point where paid personnel were becoming
necessary to provide fire protection for the Elverta Community. On January
1, 1987, the Elverta and Rio Linda Fire Boards entered into an agreement to
where the management of Elverta would fall under the responsibility of the
Rio Linda Fire Chief. The volunteers in Elverta still ran all fire calls for
the Elverta area, but they had manpower and engine support from the Rio
Linda Fire District. As time went on, the merger took place and the
opportunity presented itself for Elverta volunteers to take the examinations
and naturally interview for front paid firefighter positions. There were
several volunteers who worked in a part-time capacity to staff Stations 16
and 17 in the Elverta area. As time went on, those same firefighters would
work in Station 11 and Station 12 in Rio Linda, and then rotate through the
stations. Several of the Elverta Volunteers became full paid Firefighters.
After the merger with the Rio Linda Fire District it became known as the Rio
Linda Elverta Fire Protection District.
When negotiations went
further, they started talking with Citrus Heights Fire Protection District
and then with American River Fire Protection District. A decision was made
to merge with American River Fire Protection District on June 15, 1990. The
paid firefighters from Rio Linda and Elverta Fire District became American
River Firefighters, and once again, the volunteers, both Rio Linda and
Elverta, continued to respond to all fire calls and some medical calls. When
the opportunity presented itself for the volunteer firefighters to go to a
part paid position, they were given the opportunity to test and go through
the American River Training Tower eventually becoming full paid American
River Firefighters.
The main station in
Elverta, at Elverta Road and Elwyn Avenue (Station 116), was named and
dedicated to Ernie Dyer. He had been active in the Fire District and had
done much to transform the District from an all-volunteer organization to a
part paid Fire District.
Written by Margaret
Posehn |
