Loudonville Fire Department celebrates 150 years
Connor Coey, 4, checks out the old fire engine on display in Central Park during the Loudonville Fire Department’s 150th anniversary open house and celebration on Saturday, May 20. The engine was purchased in 1926 and put in service in 1929 after it was outfitted for the department’s use.
The Loudonville Fire Department held an open house on Saturday, May 20 to commemorate its 150th anniversary.
The fire station on North Market Street was open for guests to tour the facility and get into the department’s current vehicles. Scrapbooks also were available for the guests to look through.
At Central Park at the corner of North Market Street and East Main Street, food vendors were set up along with an old Loudonville Fire Department engine. By the fire department’s records, the engine was purchased in 1926 and put into service in 1929 after it was outfitted for use by the department. The old fire engine was a big hit for the younger attendees.
Ohio 67th District State Rep. Melanie Miller presented Loudonville Fire Department Chief Dan Robinson and all the members of the department who were on hand an Ohio House of Representatives resolution for the department’s 150 years of service to the Loudonville community.
“These resolutions from the Ohio House of Representatives are not given out very often, so it is my pleasure to present this to the department for its 150 years of dedicated service, and here’s to 150 more,” Miller said as she presented the resolution to Robinson while they stood in front of the old fire engine in Central Park. The other members of the department also were gathered there for a photo.
The Loudonville Fire Department was organized and founded in 1873 after two large fires in the business district of the village, one in 1869 and another in 1872. The first fire department was known as Hope Fire Company.
Around that same time in February 1873, a second fire company known as Star Hook and Ladder Company was organized. Hope Fire Company was a pump company while Star Hook and Ladder was a ladder company.
In those days there was a rivalry between the two companies on who would reach the fire scene first. During the early days, the water supply came from 11 cisterns placed throughout the village by the village council.
In 2023 the Loudonville Fire Department is staffed by three full-time firefighters, and staffing is supplemented with part-time and volunteer firefighters. The current roster consists of 29 members, and most are dual certified in fire and EMS, with members also trained in hazmat, high-angle rope rescue and swift water rescue. Fire department members also conduct outreach training to area residences and businesses with CPR and fire extinguisher training.