The first of a series of articles about the history of the Upper Arlington Fire Division.

Fire Protection In Upper Arlington,
The Early Years

In 1913, Ben and King Thompson began planning their new development, "The Country Club District", which would become incorporated as The Village of Upper Arlington in 1918. The first eight homes of the Country Club District were built in 1915, near the trolley car line on Fifth Ave.

Fire protection for these initial homes was provided by the Columbus Fire Department. The closest stations were Station 9, at Buttles and Delaware in what is now called Victorian Village; and Station 7, located on Euclid Ave. which is near the intersection of King Ave. and High St. At that time, these stations were equipped with horse drawn steamers and hose reel wagons. They most likely would have responded to "the Country Club district" by way of an early bridge that crossed the Olentangy River at Fifth Ave. A modern arch bridge was being built on King Ave. in 1913, but was washed away before it was completed by the torrential floods of that year. The Third Ave. bridge was not constructed until 1919. The horse drawn equipment had a response time of approximately fifteen minutes to reach this area.

By 1916, there were twenty eight homes in Upper Arlington. Construction slowed for a year as soldiers mobilized for duty at the Mexican border at Camp Willis, located in the area in front of where Jones Middle School now exists. In 1917, growth began anew and soon there were sixty-one homes and a great sense of prosperity. The local trolley company laid plans for extending its lines even further, to the Scioto Country Club.

Columbus Fire Station 9 had its horses replaced by a Seagraves tractor in 1916, which pulled a twenty year old steamer. The entire Columbus Fire Department was mechanized by the year 1919. The response time to the Upper Arlington area was shortened to approximately eight minutes based on early speed tests performed by the Columbus Fire Department.

In 1920, the Village of Upper Arlington Commissioners were approached by the City of Columbus to provide some type of compensation for continued assistance with fire protection. The Village was slow to act but did appropriate $50.00 to the Fireman's Relief Fund of the City of Columbus in appreciation for assistance at a recent fire. In 1922, a contract was approved that apparently provided for compensation on a per run basis. Early records show the Village paid Columbus $250.00 for having responded to a fire on Concord Road.

The contract was renewed in 1923 while the City of Columbus and the Village Commissioners continued to discuss the fire protection needs of the Village. By this time the Village of Grandview Heights was forming a fire department. The Ohio Inspection Bureau sent the Village of Upper Arlington a letter suggesting certain improvements in their methods of fire protection and the end result was a contract with the new Grandview Fire Department. The agreement, which existed from 1924-26 amounted to an annual fee of $3,900.00.

In 1926, Upper Arlington went back to the City of Columbus for fire protection at a cost of $3,709.17. The result was confusion amongst the residents, who often didn't know which entity to call for help. This confusion was compounded in 1927, as fire protection again came from Grandview when the Ohio Inspection Bureau advised the village fathers that Upper Arlington would see a 30% increase in fire insurance if the closest responding equipment continued to come from Columbus.

In February 1929, the Bureau again told Village Commissioners that the present fire protection plan was "weak and inadequate", and unless other arrangements were made, insurance rates would be increased.

Plans were finally laid for a municipal building which would house fire trucks and village offices. On November 5, 1929 voters approved an issue that provided for the acquisition of a site and construction of a building for a fire department. On February 4, 1930, the Village Building Inspector presented detailed plans of the new Municipal Building at 2095 Arlington Avenue. This began the development of the Upper Arlington Fire Department.

Upper Arlington Fire Fighters, P.O.Box 21271, Upper Arlington, Ohio, USA, 43221
Any questions, inquires or comments?  Let us know!

Our family serving your family since 1930!