Indianapolis Fire Department

History

The first fire department in Indianapolis was not founded until June 20, 1826. It was a volunteer department that had to use a church bell for alarms, and had only ladders and leather buckets to fight fires. This was seventeen months after the first recorded fire in Indianapolis occurred on January 17, 1825, which took place across the street from the county courthouse in a tavern.

In 1835, a law was passed requiring the purchase of an engine, along with better equipment, to be partially funded by the state and partially by the city, in order to protect the Indiana statehouse. From this, the Marion Fire, Hose, and Protection Company was established. An additional volunteer company was founded in 1841 and there were eight total volunteer companies in Indianapolis by 1859. Collectively, 600 men were volunteers in these eight companies, and although unpaid, they did receive perks such as immunity from being called on juries or militia duty, and not having to pay poll taxes or taxes for roads.

The volunteer companies were rather political, and tended to express their views freely. They were also known to break into brothels and freely use their hoses on the clientele and the interior walls, wrecking the places; this was done not for moral reasons, but rather, to amuse themselves. As a result, the Indianapolis City Council established a paid force on November 14, 1859, so that the council could have control over Indianapolis' fire protection, which it did not have over the volunteers. The Indianapolis Fire Department began with a hook and ladder company and two hand engines, but would in 1860 gain their first steam engine.

The paid firemen had no days off, were not allowed to leave their post except for one meal, and were seldom allowed to leave the firehouse unless on fire business or a family emergency. An ordinance in 1859 made it illegal to give firemen alcoholic beverages. Their clothes were irregular; uniforms were not worn until 1874, with a regulation uniform established in 1928. Firemen had to buy their own uniforms until 1943, when a $60 clothing allowance was established. An attempt to remove politics from the fire department was not very successful; it was necessary to mandate that the department staff be half Republican and half Democrat, and the role of fire chief was based on political affiliation and family contacts.

The first dog to discover arson for the Indianapolis Fire Department was acquired in July 1993.

Mergers with township fire departments

In 2007, the process began to absorb some of the fire departments in the eight townships in Marion County other than Center Township that were not previously part of the IFD coverage area. As of 2014, five of the eight township fire departments have merged with IFD:

Townships still retaining their own fire departments as of 2014:

Operations

There are currently fourteen Divisions of Operations within the Indianapolis Fire Department: Communications, Emergency Operations, Emergency Medical Services, Executive Services, Finance and Pension, Fire Investigations Section, Fire and Life Safety, Homeland Security/Special Operations and Training, Quartermaster, Information Technology, Media Relations, Safety, Support Services, and USAR Indiana Task Force One.

USAR Task Force 1

The Indianapolis Fire Department is the founding member of one of the 28 FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Task Force. Indiana Task Force 1 (IN-TF1) is made up of members of multiple fire departments in Marion County.

Indianapolis EMS

Ambulance transport in the city of Indianapolis is provided by Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services, a division of the Indianapolis Department of Public Safety. This division was formed to unify care that was previously being provided separately by both the Indianapolis Fire Department and Wishard Memorial Hospital. As of 2013 the department operates 42 ambulances, with approximately 32 of them deployed during peak hours. Fourteen of these ambulances are stationed at IFD fire stations. While technically separate from the Fire Department, members of IEMS are also part of the IAFF Union 416.

Ramada Inn Air Crash and Fire

The Ramada Inn Air Crash and Fire was an aircraft accident that occurred at the Airport Ramada Inn in Indianapolis, Indiana when a United States Air Force pilot failed to reach the runway and the plane crashed into a nearby Ramada Inn. On the morning of October 20, 1987, a United States Air Force A-7D-4-CV Corsair II, serial 69-6207, sustained some sort of engine failure about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of the city at around 31,000 feet. The pilot survived after ejecting but 9 people were killed in the hotel when the aircraft smashed into the side of the building.