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The North Highlands
Village Fire District was formed on September 24, 1951, by action of the
Sacramento County Board of Supervisors. Notice was not filed with the
Secretary of State until 1957. The District boundaries were Watt Avenue and
the railroad tracks at Roseville Road on the south, the railroad tracks to
the east, U Street (now Antelope Road) on the north, and the centerline of
Watt Avenue closing in the west. The District encompassed approximately four
and one half square miles. The District was made up of residential
structures, some commercial buildings and wheat fields.
The first firehouse was
located next to the Flying A gasoline station at 5601 North Haven Drive.
What started out as a single bay firehouse is currently Station 42. It was
Station 1 until 1957 when it became Station 2. In the spring of 1953 a
second apparatus bay, office, bathroom, dormitory, and kitchen were added.
The apparatus bays were expanded towards North Haven in 1962. The
firefighters provided the labor for construction. Station 2 closed in
October 1980 due to funding cuts. Foothill Ambulance leased the living
quarters and two engines were stored in the apparatus bays. The building was
re-opened as a Fire Station in 1983.
The second station was
built at 6900 Thomas Dr. in 1957. This is the current Metro Fire Station 41.
This became the headquarters and was known as Station 1. Kaufman and
Reynolds Construction Company built it for $46,630. It is essentially the
same configuration today.
Originally the daytime
alarms were received by telephone at the Flying A gasoline station and the
night calls were answered at Cecil Dye’s apartment across the street. There
was an air horn on top of Station 2 that alerted firefighters and a siren
on a tower at Station 1. In 1958, radio receivers were issued to the
firefighters to supplement the horn and siren. Firefighters on duty at
Station 1 answered the telephone, received radio alarms, and dispatched the
call. In 1983 dispatch was merged with eight other fire districts. The
Citrus Heights Fire Protection District dispatch center was used. KMF 709
was no longer on the air.
Cy Walters was the first
Fire Chief. Cecil Dye became the Fire Chief on February 5, 1953. Dye was
hired full time on February 1, 1957. Walter Larsen became the Fire Chief on
March 1, 1976.
North Highlands was a
volunteer District until July 1957, when three firefighters were hired at
$340 per month. The District remained a mixture of paid and volunteer
firefighters until the merger with Citrus Heights Fire Protection District
in February 1984. At the time of the merger the staffing included one Fire
Chief, one Assistant Chief, one Fire Marshal, three Captains, six Engineers,
three Firefighters and 15 Volunteers. A captain, engineer, and firefighter
staffed Station 41 and an engineer staffed Station 42. Volunteers were
allowed to work part time as “residents” at Station 42.
The North Highlands
Firemen’s Association was formed shortly after the formation of the
District. The Association raised funds to purchase apparatus and equipment
for use by the District. The Association also participated in charitable
events in the community and provided a social environment for the
firefighters and their families. The Sacramento Metropolitan Firefighters
Association uses the original charter from the North Highlands Firemen’s
Association.
The first fire engine was
an old forestry engine loaned by the Van Pelt Fire Apparatus Company. This
engine had a water tank with two booster lines and was used until the
delivery of Engine 1.
Engine 1, a 750 GPM
White/Van Pelt, was delivered on September 20, 1952, at a cost of $15,000.
It had a 400 gal. water tank and pump and roll capability. It was retired on
June 15, 1970, and went into service at the Mayer Arizona Fire District.
Engine 2, a 750 GPM 1953
Ford/Van Pelt had a 400 gal. water tank and a high pressure PTO pump with
Hardie guns. Engine 2 saw action on several strike teams. It operated 24
hours a day for seven days on the Riverton Fire in 1959. It pumped from the
American River and was fueled as it pumped. It once used its PTO pump to
“pumpup” a steam engine at the California State Railroad Museum to allow it
to move to its parking spot. Former North Highlands Fireman Ken Bayer, who
is currently the president of the Sacramento Fire Buff’s Club, now owns it.
Engine 3, a 1,000 GPM
American LaFrance was delivered by railroad boxcar in July 1957 at a cost of
$20,000. It had a 500-gallon water tank and pump and roll capability. The
brakes were atrocious.
The Firemen’s Association
purchased and operated an ambulance from April 1958 until July 1961.
Rescue 5, a 1961 GMC
pickup with a utility box, replaced the ambulance. It carried first aid
equipment, extrication tools, salvage vac, generator, and ventilation
equipment. It was once stolen on a call.
Engine 6, a 1,250 GPM
1962 GMC/Wesco, V12 gasoline powered engine, was purchased for $25,700. It
had a 500-gallon water tank and pump and roll capability. The clutch would
really build up the leg muscles. Shifting was easy, either find em or grind
em. This engine is now in service in Mount Shasta City.
Engine 8 was a 750 GPM
1970 Ford/Van Pelt. A newer version of Engine 2, it had a 400-gallon water
tank and pump and roll capability.
Engine 9 was a 1,250 GPM
1976 Ford Howe/Grumman diesel purchased for $73,140. It had a 500-gallon
water tank, pump and roll capability and an up top engineer’s panel. It was
lime green, but was repainted red and the body was rebuilt after the merger
with Citrus Heights. North Highlands and Rio Linda Fire Districts installed
a joint diesel tank at Station 12 (now Station 112) to fuel their new diesel
engines.
The first “big” fire was
the Zion Lutheran Church nearing completion at Bolivar Avenue and Thomas
Drive. At another church fire, the Larchmont Church, three juveniles lit the
church classrooms, themselves, and grass on fire. In addition, several
schools had major fires. One was the fire at Allison School on Christmas Eve
1979, which burned four classrooms and a Center Resource room. The Village
School Library fire in December 1977 and the Highlands High School Band Room
fire in February 1978 were two more. Firefighters responded with boats to a
major flooding in January 1978, prior to the advent of Swift Water Rescue
Team (SRT). Several large wheat field fires were chased over the years. A
residential structure had an explosion when the occupant, who was attempting
to commit suicide by turning on all the gas appliances, and sitting on the
toilet, got bored and lit a cigarette. He survived.
North Highlands
participated in mutual aid and automatic aid programs such as strike team
responses with California Department of Forestry (CDF) and United States
Forest Service (USFS). Two aircraft crashes, the Roseville Rail Yard
explosions, the Port of Sacramento wood chip fire, the warehouse fire on
McClellan Air Force Base, and many structure, grass, and vehicle accidents
throughout the surrounding areas were responded to by North Highlands.
Fire prevention and
education programs included school programs, station tours, instructing CPR,
and going door to door replacing batteries in smoke detectors. Fire
investigation duties were handled by the Fire Marshal and on shift
assistants. The Fire Marshal conducted all fire inspections.
Fleet maintenance was
handled by the mechanic on shift. There was no extra pay. A program was
started to have all firefighters perform minor maintenance. One firefighter
found out that it’s impossible to grease a brake bleeder.
The Assistant Chief
directed training. Volunteer training was conducted on the first and third
Thursdays of each month. The on-duty crews were responsible for presenting
the drills. The training was similar to current methods, all aspects of
firefighting, hazardous materials, EMS, extrication, and rescue were
included.
The North Highlands and
Rio Linda Fire Districts attempted a merger that was voted down in 1980.
In 1983, the board of
directors of the Citrus Heights and North Highlands Fire Districts voted to
merge. The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors approved the merger on
January 4, 1984. The merger became effective February 4, 1984, and the North
Highlands Fire District became part of the Citrus Heights Fire Protection
District.
The information in this
brief history came from interviews with former employees and the book,
32-year History of the North Highlands Fire District, assembled by Dean
O’Brien.
By Captain Dennis Darnell |
