CCVFD History

Our History

The town fire department was organized sometime before 1940 the first piece of equipment was a reel pulled by hand and before a station was built a local church bell was rung in case of an emergency. During the 1940’s there was a new water system installed that greatly enhanced the efficiency of the department along with a new station.
A pick up truck that was purchased in 1943 was the first fire truck owned by the department; it carried 1,500 feet of hose.
The next trucks were purchased in 1953 and 1958.
The last engine was purchased in 1979 with a 1000 GPM pump.

In 1953 a community fire department was organized and chartered. In 1973 a new station was built at the present location on Statesville Blvd. in Cleveland by the volunteers of the department at the time. The first new engine purchased after the station was built was a 1977 with a 750 GPM pump, then in 1980 a 250 GPM brush truck. In the mid 1980’s the department began a Medical Responder program with the urging of Dr. John Barr, the local doctor in town. Ms. Janelle Brown taught the first course offered to the members of the fire department. The first medical responder vehicle the department owned was a 1979 cargo van.

For almost 40 years the community fire department was able to sustain itself through door to door donations and barbecues and a small allotment from the county. In 1992 the community fire department petitioned the county commissioners for a fire tax that was granted in the same year. Also during the same time the town fire department was unable to continue to provide services to the citizens within the town limits due to lack of personnel so the Board of Directors’ of the community fire department and the Cleveland Town Board entered into an agreement that the town would turn over all of its’ equipment to the community fire department in exchange for it providing fire protection and medical responder services to the town.

In 1995 the recently combined fire department purchased a much needed Freightliner pumper/tanker with a 1500 GPM pump and received a 1983 surplus ambulance from the county for a donation.The old medical responder van was then converted to an equipment/command post unit. In 1998 an American Lafrance engine with a 2000 GPM pump was added to the fleet. In 2000 with a donation from the Cleveland Town Board a new Ford Excursion was purchased and outfitted as a medical responder unit. In 2001 a Ford 550 mini pumper with a CAFS system was purchased.