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The Orangevale Volunteer
Fire Department was formed in 1933 with a single fire station located at
Hazel Avenue and Greenback Lane. The first fire engine was a converted 1917
REO touring car, purchased for $650 by the volunteers. The fire engine was
dedicated in February 1935. Unfortunately, we were unable to locate file
photographs of the fire engine or firehouse.
The first Fire Chief was
Howard Greenhalgh, and Lloyd Greenhalgh was the first Assistant Chief. Other
members of the department included Dick Richards, Nick Tomich and Earl
McNeely. Earl McNeely was the owner and manager of the Sacramento Senators,
a professional baseball team, and served as a Fire Commissioner for the
Citrus Heights Fire District in the early 1970’s.
The Orangevale Volunteers
often served as volunteers for the Citrus Heights Fire District; perhaps the
reason the two districts merged around the year 1945. In 1953, the Citrus
Heights Fire District built a new fire station to replace the original
Orangevale station. The new station was located just east of Hazel Avenue at
Greenback Lane and Pecan Avenue. In 1964, a second fire station was built in
Orangevale at Hickory and Blythe Avenue. This station is still in use today
as Station 29. A third fire station was built in Orangevale at Chestnut
Avenue north of Greenback Lane. Upon completion of the third fire station,
the station at Greenback Lane and Pecan Avenue was closed. The Chestnut
Avenue Fire Station remains in use today as Station 22.
In 1942, Fair Oaks Fire
District began serving the southern portion of Orangevale. In 1978, to
better serve the area, Fair Oaks Fire District built a fire station on Main
Avenue near Mississippi Bar. This fire station is currently in use as
Station 33.
Written by Randy Wootton |
