For the past 100 years community minded citizens have served the city of Hamilton and the surrounding area as volunteer firefighters. For the first few years the department struggled.  An early attempt to create a volunteer fire-fighting force in the 1893-94 ended unsuccessfully and it was not until 1897 that an active fire department became a reality. A Western News article from 1896 stated the first attempt included folks who "exhibited a spirit of negligence in the work" and who were "suspected of a lack of interest". The new company formed with D.D. Bishop as the Fire Chief, F.M. Lockwood as Assistant Chief, H.M. Smith , George Butler and W.P. O’Brien as fire captains. There were 25 members, very similar to the 28 members of today’s volunteer unit. Regular practices were scheduled for every Friday evening and fines were imposed on those who did not make the meetings or fires. The minutes from the 1898 indicated one firefighter was fined 50 cents for not making it to a fire. The department had 1 "apparatus" and fire hose, but the first news articles asked for donations of lumber to build an "incline" on which to dry the hose after use. It was in 1898 that the department voted to organize and hold a Firemen’s Ball on Thanksgiving Eve and that practice has continued for the past 98 years. The fire department requested and occasionally battled with the early day Hamilton city council for funding according to news articles of the times. The department budget for 1917 was $450 from the city. The influenza epidemic of 1918 hit the fire department as it did everyone else. The secretary’s minutes from that year state no meetings were held in November and December "on account of the flu". The Depression was difficult for the firefighters—A 1934 treasurer’s entry showed a department balance of $5.30. After the Valley Mercantile fire in 1936, the department secretary, Ed Marx, recorded that written claims had to be submitted by firemen whose clothing and shoes were damaged fighting the fire. Marx served the HVFD for 47 years, retiring in 1960. During World War Two and the Korean War the department carried the men in armed forces on their roster, acknowledging the greater service to their country as a good reason for missing fire meetings and fires. Over the decades. The Hamilton Volunteer Fire Department was called upon many times—Hamilton’s flour mill in 1917, The Ravalli Hotel fire of 1919, The Talbot and Sullivan mill in 1940, The Anaconda Company mill in 1946. One of the most disastrous fires was the Valley Mercantile fire of March 5,1936.. It was the second time the Mercantile had burned- another serious fire happened in 1910. In 1936 the fire gutted half a city block on Hamilton’s Main street and caused $80,000 worth of damage. The store was on the southwest corner of Main and Second streets. Marx, who was a Mercantile employee, reported the fire started in the boiler room. "We had to work very hard to keep the fire from spreading to the Haigh building and Liberty Theater". Marx remembered. "The cement wall on the alley was the only thing that saved Joe Haigh’s building". The firefighters have dealt with massive property damage and death. The most costly fires in terms of human lives happened in 1965 when a four year-old boy , playing with a candle , caused the death of his parents and two sisters. By the mid- sixties the department was expanding its life-saving capacities and training, working on wreck extrication as well as fire stand-by at accident scenes. A 1966 report tells of the HVFD using its new rescue saw to free four teenagers from a one-car accident where their vehicle crashed into a tree on the outskirts of Corvallis. Three of those young people did not survive. But the department has had its lighter moments. A 1960 newspaper article chronicles the birth of five kittens to a female cat in a storage compartment of a fire truck as it was on its way to a fire. The report stated the kittens and mother cat were given a comfortable –non-mobile-home in the fire hall after the fire was out. The largest fire in recent history was the historic Downing Building fire in February 1985. The two story structure caught fire about 10 p.m. and the HVFD battled through the night to save the 100 block of Main Street from total destruction. Every valley fire department mobilized that night in a well-planned mutual assistance deployment to aid the other departments. With constant training, improved equipment and dedicated volunteers, the HVFD is ready to serve and meet the needs of its community into the 21^st century.

Community Programs

Fire Prevention and Education Program

In addition to the hours volunteers spend on personal training, HVFD members are also committed to educating our community in fire prevention.  On an almost weekly basis, you can see our volunteers spending time with many different facilities including public schools, private schools, senior citizen facilities, private industry, and more.  Along with the time spend in public and private facilities, HVFD gives many tours of the fire station, presenting the equipment and fire department operation to all age groups from kindergarteners to senior citizens.

In an attempt to maintain interest in our public education program, HVFD continues to make investments in not only time but equipment as well.  Our newest addition in equipment is "Freddie the Fire Truck".  Freddie moves, speaks, listens, plays audio cassette tapes, and sounds his siren all by remote control.  He can wink, blink, move his eyes, and with his smiling face present a positive and friendly image to the young and old alike.  (A picture of Freddie is coming soon!).

Christmas Holiday Decorations

The day after Thanksgiving of each year, the streets of Hamilton are lit with strands of Christmas lights crisscrossing Main Street, in addition to other festive decorations to bring in the Christmas holidays for the business' of Hamilton.  As a community oriented department, we take great pride in helping the community with such a worthwhile project by helping hang, maintain, remove, and store the Christmas decorations.

Annual Fundraising Efforts

To maintain our status as one of the best trained volunteer fire departments in the state, HVFD must rely to a large degree on the generosity and support of our local fire district.  In November of every year, HVFD starts it's fund drive with an extensive mailing to the members of our fire district.  In addition to the mailings, all our volunteers will take a day from work to personally visit each and every business within our fire district.  The dollars we raise from our community help to purchase personal protective items for the firefighters, send firefighters to training not provided in-house, and helps make investments in educational training aids such as "Freddie the Fire Truck".  

To wrap up our fund drive, the evening before Thanksgiving Day has traditionally been set for the Fireman's Ball.   Touted as the "Best Social Event of the Year", it is the department's way of thanking the community of Hamilton for their generous support.  Usually held in two separate locations, each with it's own brand of music, it lends itself to an evening of dancing, socializing, and an extreme amount of enjoyment.