Mt. Vernon Fire Department

The Mount Vernon Fire Department was established in 1849. The first paid firefighters were appointed in 1891. Initially, there were three fire stations located at the intersection of Mansfield Avenue and Curtis Street, on West Vine Street between Mechanic Street and West Street, and on North Gay Street between the Methodist and Episcopal churches. In 1914, the City closed two of the stations and concentrated its equipment and workforce to the Gay Street location. The fire department was moved to the Northeast corner of Public Square in 1918 so that better access to the entire city could be obtained.

In the late 1950’s it became apparent that the facility on Public Square was no longer sufficient to house the fire department. Plans were implemented to build a new station. In 1965, the fire department was relocated to 207 West Ohio Avenue into a building that was once a boat sales agency. The building was heavily damaged in the flood of 1959, but updates were made and the facility was repaired so that it could house the apparatus and manpower.

With the railroad traffic that was prevalent at the time, a second fire station was needed in the South end of the City. The Elmwood fire station was built on Ames Street in 1967. The fire department operated out of these two buildings until 2000 when the new facility located at 200 West Gambier Street was completed and able to be utilized.