History
The Deerfield Volunteer Fire Department was officially organized in 1912 and Lincoln Pettis was appointed as the first fire chief. Back then it was a municipal department under the jurisdiction of the Village of Deerfield. However, in 1942, the village voted by referendum to disband the municipal department and turned over fire protection to the newly formed Deerfield Bannockburn Fire Protection District.
Prior to the creation of our fire district the first piece of fire equipment was a two-wheel cart. The cart could be attached to a horse drawn buggy or to an automobile and towed to a fire where lengths of hose could be unrolled by firefighters and attached to a chemical tank for extinguishing fires. Bucket brigades, made up of bystanders, also would bring water in pails to fight the fires. Luckily, in 1912, municipal fire hydrants had been installed providing for a more consistent supply of water with easier access.
Arthur J. Ender, son of Deerfield’s first Mayor John C. Ender, donated his old Peerless automobile to the volunteer firefighters. The men rebuilt the car into a small fire truck that carried hose, chemicals, and a ladder. It was also known to pull Deerfield’s chemical cart to fires. This was Deerfield’s first piece of motorized fire apparatus.
That same year on May 26, 1913, at 6:30 A.M. the Deerfield Grammar School burned to the ground in 30 minutes. Despite the aid of rain and the chemical cart, flames spread rapidly after an explosion in the basement. The explosion blew out the entire west and south walls. At that time, insurance on the building was $4,500 and insurance on the contents was only $500. This money was used to help erect a new school building in its place. It was a four room wooden schoolhouse belonging to School District 109. The school was located at the current site of the District 109 administration building at 517 Deerfield Road. It is also the site of the Deerfield Area Historical Society Village.
Our first fire station was located at 705 Waukegan Road in a little wooden building on the Fred Meyer property, which is now the site of the Deerfield Schwinn Bicycle Shop. The fire alarm was an iron flange ring from a railroad locomotive tire, donated to the village by a Mrs. Kress. It hung outside on a tree and when the flange was struck with a big hammer the alarm would sound alerting the firefighters that their response was needed.
The building housed the 1923 International fire truck built by Peter Pirsch & Sons in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The truck had a 500 gallon per minute pump on it and carried 100 gallons of water. In 1923, there was a big celebration in Deerfield with a parade, queen, and carnival to celebrate its purchase. There are no records for this truck, but many years after its retirement, it stood beside the Barrett Plumbing Shop on Park Avenue east of the railroad depot. This area is now a commuter parking lot owned by the Village of Deerfield. The vehicle was later cut up and sold for scrap.
The second fire station was in the former Frank Anderson barn. The barn was behind the Anderson Hotel on the southwest corner of Waukegan Road & Deerfield Road. The building later became known as the Stryker Building, the Deerfield Hotel, and the Callner Building.
The barn had an apartment on the second floor. Sometime in the 1940s there was a fire in the apartment as a result of careless smoking. Lester Wicum, a cab driver working for a local Deerfield Cab Company, tragically lost his life in the fire.
The locomotive flange was moved to a box elder tree on the southeast corner of Deerfield Road and Waukegan Road. The call of alarm was given by the pounding of a big hammer on the wheel. The Village of Deerfield paid Mr. John A. Stryker $35 per month rent to house the fire truck. The barn had been previously used as a blacksmith shop and an ice house. Both buildings were demolished in January 1989. The area is now a park owned by the Village of Deerfield.
The third fire station was in the north wing of the Masonic Temple at 711 Waukegan Road adjoining the Village of Deerfield offices that were in the basement of the temple. In 1927, a siren was installed on top of the Masonic Temple.
The alarm signals were: two long blasts for the business district and one long, one short blast for the north side of town. One long, two short blasts were for the south side of town. One long, three short blasts were for the east side of town. One long, four short blasts were for the west side of town. This station was occupied until 1951.
The fourth fire station was at 839 Deerfield Road. The building was first occupied in June 1951. In 1954, it was enlarged to include a communication room, kitchen, and meeting room. A second addition to the station was finished in 1968, just before the beginning of the full-time career department. This addition included a new west truck bay, a hose and training tower, and a complete second floor. On the second floor were a new kitchen, bunk room, washrooms, meeting rooms, and offices. In 1981, the second floor was remodeled to add additional administrative offices.