History

A History of the

Camp Taylor

Fire Department

In the begining the money to operate the Camp Taylor Fire Department came from the pockets of the volunteer firemen. A dish sat inside the door of the firehouse, and, as the men came in, they emptied their pockets into the dish. Those coins paid for gas, minor repairs and expenses.

1943 was a turning point for Camp Taylor. The world was running amok and the city of Louisville, which had not yet annexed this area, decided it would have to charge fees for answering fire calls outside the city limits. Louis Jones, Pappy Powell, Marshall Grant, Billy Eiden, Cal Raymon, and Charles "Dutch" Shaffer formed the first Camp Taylor Volunteer Fire Department in November of that year to minimize the costs and speed the response time for the fire protection.

Dutch Shaffer built the first home of the CTFD, a 1 bay concrete garage at 4310 Sherman Avenue, to house the first vehicle, which was furnished by the Civil Defense Department. It was an old Civil Defense trailer which carried 400 feet of 2 1/2" hose and 200 feet of 1 1/2" hose and could pump 500 GPM. It was pulled by the vehicles of the volunteers.

Soon, the department began to collect membership dues from property owners and businesses. $3 due each September. Without this membership, each call for response to a fire alarm would cost $25.

In 1945, a disagreement with the Okolona Water District precipitated the creation of the Camp Taylor Improvement Club. That charter was signed on April 18, 1945.

The first fire truck (Co.#1) was a 1937 Chevrolet originally used as an RC Cola truck. It was acquired form VV Cooke Chevrolet for $1.00, which was paid by the owner's daughter who, at that time, was the secretary.

C.T.F.D. was the first volunteer fire department in Kentucky, perhaps in the United States, to use radios to coordinate the work. In 1947, protecting, 11 square miles on Louisville's southern outskirts, CTFD bought 3 Army surplus "Walkie-Talkie" type portable radios. One receiver-transmitter was installed on the skid mounted pumper, while the other two were used by firefighters at the scene of a blaze to relay information to the pumper. The department was granted permission to operate on the police frequency band by the Federal Communications office in Chicago.

In 1948, the department moved to the garage of Louis Jones at 1431 Lincoln Avenue. The second fire truck (Co. #2) was purchased for around $250 from the Pepsi Cola Company. The firemen drove all night to St. Louis to pick up the pump that they mounted on that 1940 truck.

In 1949, the City of Louisville annexed the area surrounding the Camp Taylor Fire Station. The department sold one of its engines and went out of business. Louisville, however, decided it needed to keep that station operational; so, it purchased a Ford truck from the Marine Corps and donated it to the CTFD to continue service.

The 50's brought many changes to the department and many additions to the apparatus.

In 1950 a Ford pumper was purchased from Fort Knox. In 1951, the department moved to its third home, a 1 story, 2 bay concrete block garage built by the Improvement Club on rented property at 1426 Lincoln Avenue.

1953 saw the purchase of the first brand new truck for the Camp Taylor Fire Department. Co#5 was a 1953 L-170 International Fire Pumper. While the cab and chassis cost the department $2869.94, the additional equipment pushed the total to about $8,000. The sister truck was purchased the following year and was used until 1974, when it was sold to the Fredericksburg, Indiana Fire Department.

The next truck greatly expanded the capabilities, and thus the effectiveness, of the department. For $950, a 2 1/2 ton six-wheel surplus Army truck was acquired. In a month and a half, doing the work themselves, the firemen attached a 500 gallon-a-minute pump to the front, and an 825 gallon aluminum water tank to the chassis, for a total cost of $5,000. They were then able to go into fields where the other apparatus could not go. And, they could stand on the front and both sides of the back to extinguish large fires. This truck was sold to the Eastwood Fire Department in the 1960's for $250.

In September of 1957, Camp Taylor Station 2 at 1127 Orchard Avenue was completed. A new 1957 Ford Pumper was purchased for that station. Two years later, the Edgwood Fire Protection District was formed and the following year bought that property, building, and apparatus from Camp Taylor for $27,000.

By the last year of that decade, the department was finding it difficult to collect dues, especially from industry. So, on March 19, 1959, a taxing district was established. This legally established the boundaries for fire protection and taxed the property within those boundaries to pay for those services. The District contracted with the Camp Taylor Improvement Club to provide fire protection, paying for the operations with the taxes. The Improvement Club continued to own the fire station and equipment for many years.

However, the Club did not own the land at 1426 Lincoln Ave. That was rented with the option to own; but difficulties with the owners cropped up and sent the Club scurrying to find other property. The property at the corner of Lincoln & Sherman was the desired spot, but the purchase was a long drawn out process and it wasn't at all a certainty. So, the Club purchased property at 4218 Kenton Avenue as a back-up.

When, after seven years of negotiations, the land at 1441 Lincoln Avenue, which housed our Station 1 until 2003, was finally purchased, the Club sold the Kenton Avenue property(in 1967).

On January 14, 1961 an Open House was held for the new Camp Taylor Fire Department station. A dance followed, at a cost of $1 per person. At the dedication on January 19, the station was the largest in the county, often referred to as "the Castle of the County". The original cost of the building was estimated at $84,685.49. The Club had only $50,000 in the bank, so they became the first department in Kentucky to borrow money ($40,000.) from a local bank. When all was said and done (all bills paid), the balance in the bank was 47cents.

On March 8, 1965, with the resignation of Chief Newton Calvert, Sr., Harold Adkins was appointed Acting Chief. Adkins was elected to that position in the general election on September 7, 1965. There was a roster of 25 men. Adkins served as Chief for the next eleven years.

In that same year came the distinction of officers. Ranks were Chief, Assistant Chief, Major, Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant and Firefighter. The rank of Lieutenant would be dropped in the late '80's. The officers badges were gold plated for the first time.

At that time, the department had only two 15 minute Scott Paks. That year for canister packs and six 30 minute Scott Paks were added. Six more were purchased in 1968 and now we have one for every position on every apparatus, as well as one in each command car.

It was in that year that the last truck was purchased by the Improvement Club. It was a 1968 Oren Quit with a 65 ft ladder, a 1000 GPM pump and carried 250 gallons of water, and was known as Quint 58, later re-named 5058. This Quint would later be replaced by a 1997 Seagrave Quint with a 75 ft ladder, which is currently the departments duty pumper know as Quint 5051.

The 1970's brought Camp Taylor into a new age. 1974, five single channel portable radios were purchased from the Sonar Radio Corporation (for $2685.53). One was for the Chief and the others were placed on the apparatus. The following year, the Board approved a motion to compensate fireman for making runs and taking training. The $1 for each was a "Clothing Allotment" to pay for clothing damaged during fire runs and training exercises. That has been increased over the years to the current $7.

August 9, 1976 Chief Adkins submitted a letter of resignation, effective September 13. On that day, David Shuff was elected Chief and served one year.

Harold Adkins was again elected Chief on September 9, 1977 and has continuously served in that capacity to the present day.

In that same year, all apparatus went to 4 digit County Uniform Numbering System.The first two digits signify the fire department number ( 50 for Camp Taylor). The third and fourth numbers signify the type of unit (01 is for the Chief) (a number in the 30's denotes a pumper with a 1250 GPM or larger pump carrying hose and water).

Also in that year, on October 3, the district acted on the need for expanded protection for the tremendous growth of the industrial area of the district. They voted to purchase an acre of land from Resurrection Parish for $30,500. The following year saw the construction on that property of Station 36, with two bays, an office and restrooms.

A fire at Terminix, Inc., on January 16, 1980, had a significant impact on the Camp Taylor Fire Department. Most of the gear worn at that fire had to be destroyed because of the many types of pesticides involved at the plant. Procedures and equipment were studied in depth and many changes were made for the protection of our firefighters.

The traditional 3/4 boots were discarded. Each firefighter was issued two pair of Nighthawks (a combination of pants and boots) to have one pair at home and one at the firehouse. PAL alarms were attached to the firefighters' equipment. That alarm chirps when there is no movement from the the wearer for 20 seconds. If there is no movement for 30 seconds the device would go into full alarm to help others locate the individual.

The department purchased its first set of Motorola Pagers on March 10, 1980. With those 25 pagers, the men were able to be alerted for fire runs, with details of what type of fire and the location, while away from home. Prior to that, the first form of alert was a sounding of the roof siren. Only upon the arrivial at the station were they able to learn what and where. These would later be updated several times to what we have now, with a dispatch channel and one working channel so you can here what is going on at the fire before you get there.

On July 7 of that year, Chief Adkins received approval to purchase Camp Taylor's first set of "Jaws of Life". Prior to that time, the department housed a demo set used by the company's Kentucky sales rep. and could use them when they were not being used as demos. In 1990, the department purchased the Amkus Tool, similar to the "Jaws of Life", so that each station had a set.

In May of 1982, CTFD purchased 5027, a 1965 Seagrave pumper with a 1000GPM pump, carrying 500 gallons of water. Purchased from Purdue University, it was later sold to Falls of the Rough Fire Department in Grayson County.

In 1985, the department purchased Quad 5047, a 1982 Seagrave Quad, from the Chattanooga Fire Department. This Quad has a 1250 GPM pump and carries 500 gallons of water.

On April 30, 1986, Camp Taylor began a lease program with Disaster and Emergency Services and received 5084, a 1947 REO Civil Defense Truck which carried lights, various tools, stretchers, chain saws, and a jeep trailer mounted 10kw generator. The unit was returned to DES on January 1, 1989.

In 1988, unit 5039 was sent to Pierce Mfg. Co. to be refurbished. It was changed to a Pierce pumper containing a 1250 GPM pump carrying 750 gallons of water. That same year, unit 5058 was sent to Ladder Tower Inc. for refurbishment and recertification of the aerial ladder, and was returned on Crusade Sunday.

There were dynamic changes in 1988. Camp Taylor responded to the need for improved daytime response by hiring a Maintenance Supervisor and two Firefighter/Maintenance personnel. Later, a Fire Prevention Inspector and third firefighter/maintenance personnel were added.

Station 5036 was also rebuilt in 1989 and soon became known as Camp Taylor Station #2. This station is located at 4649 Poplar Level Road. The new station is three bays wide and has drive through from front to back. It has several offices, a training room, hose room and dormitories. Final cost for this building was approximately $600.000.

1989 also brought the purchase of a 1989 Seagrave Pumper containing a 1500 GPM pump and carrying 500 gallons of water. This unit was numbered 5036, which moved the 1974 Oren Pumper to the number 5030.

A physical exam program for all firefighters and support personnel was initiated in February of 1991. Through a local Doctor's office, physicians, equipment and supplies are brought to the fire station to provide in-house physical exams. In 1992, we began to offer Hepatitis B vaccinations to all fire service personnel.

In 1992, the department purchased a Grumman Tractor & Trailor from Irvin Whitehouse & Co. for $4,000. This unit became known as 5080. Local businesses donated supplies to complete the conversion of Special Response Unit 5080. The work was done by the members. It carried communication equipment, rehab equipment, hazardous material equipment, the Evac Rescue Chute, a fax machine and a computer.

Later in 1992, the Director of Kentucky DES, James Everett came here to participate in the dedication of our Haz-Mat unit. He brought with him a former California firefighter, Bud Meyer, who told Otto Mock about a 102' Grumman Aerial Cat, with a full set of ground ladders and other equipment, which was for sale in California. He gave him a snap-shot, which he showed to Chief Adkins who asked Otto to develop an information packet on the unit for consideration by the board. After a video presentation, the board authorized an inspection team to fly to Ventura, Cal. for a personal inspection. The team of Assistant Chiefs Otto Mock and Steve Adkins, Mechanic Mike Mudd, Treasurer Larry Barry, Board Members Larry Moore and Julie Baines spent two days testing, evaluating and phoning home to the Chief.

Soon after, a 1986, 102' Grumman Aerial Cat Arrived from Ventura, California, with a 1500 GPM pump, 250 gallon water tank and a full compliment of ground ladders. This truck had never been pumped on a fire ground and cost the District only $240,000. Less than half the cost of a new aerial.

(1993 to present....soon to come)

Camp Taylor Fire Protection District

Established 1944