1920s - 1940s
See the history of the Irving Fire Department between the 1920s and the 1940s.
1920s
The Irving Fire Department was formed in 1925 as a volunteer Fire Department after a fire started in the only schoolhouse. They started with 20 men; Mr. R.V. Leach was elected Chief. Volunteers started with a four-wheeled pull cart loaded with a 20-gallon water barrel, a hand pump, buckets, brooms, and a small ladder. There are opinions that the Irving Fire Department started earlier, possibly in 1921. However, the only documented evidence of the Fire Department is from a 1925 invoice for a fire hose. The city was only one square mile at the time.
In 1926, the volunteers got their first motorized equipment, a 1919 Model T Ford truck. The volunteers added a pump, water barrel, 250 feet of 2 1/2-inch hose, buckets, a ladder, and an axe. The truck had a top speed of 25 mph. Volunteers were alerted about fires by a light and a siren on top of the old water tower downtown. There was a rumor that the city's first police officer would shoot his gun into the air to summon the volunteers, too.
1930s and 40s
The first state-certified fireman was Earl Sargent, who got his certification in the mid-1930s.
In the 1930s, the volunteers bought a used REO fire truck from the Mineral Wells Fire Department. In the early 40s, they bought a used 1936 1 1/2-ton Chevrolet truck. This truck had a 500-gpm pump and a 250-gallon tank. They also bought a war surplus international tanker that held 600 gallons. The men used rubber raincoats and fishing waders as firefighting gear.
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