The College Station Fire Department got its official start in 1970 when the city hired its first fire chief and full-time paid firefighter. Up until this point, Texas A&M University had provided Fire Suppression services to the city and campus. Cadets attending the university were tasked with not only attending college, but also being the city’s fire department. Due to several costly fires in 1930, Texas A&M began offering classes providing up-to-date firefighting techniques called the “Training School for Texas Firemen.” The class was a huge success and the college was authorized to offer the fire school annually. Thus began the long, prestigious operation of the Texas A&M Fire Protection Training Division. This new group of volunteer graduates was labeled Texas A&M College Fire Department. These volunteers provided emergency operations services to the city and campus until 1970, when the city decided to form their own department. Thus began, The City of College Station Fire Department. The first paid firefighter in the department’s history was Harry L. Davis. The city fire station and Davis’s residence were connected to the TAMU Fire department party line. Davis would respond to the emergency call with one of the city’s LaFrance pumpers. Often alone, Davis would handle the situation until the university’s fire department could arrive with additional equipment and manpower.
In 1969, Mayor D. A. “Andy” Anderson proposed to the city council that College Station obtain the new National Emergency phone number, 911, for the community. Upon Council’s adoption of Mayor Anderson’s proposal in January 1970, the City of College Station became one of the first cities in Texas to implement the use of the 911 Emergency Call System.
Prior to the spring of 1977, emergency medical services was provided to the city and community by private ambulance companies. In the first week of March, one of the ambulance services announced it would cease operations by March 8 and leave two community-purchased Southern box-type ambulances with CSFD. This resulted in perhaps the single most influential and significant development in the history of the College Station Fire Department. CSFD became responsible for Emergency Medical Service (EMS) in the city and southern Brazos County with only one certified EMT on staff. This new responsibility allowed for an immediate expansion of nine CSFD personnel with Emergency Medical Training (EMT).
In 1995, College Station Fire Department and the Bryan Fire Department agreed to begin an Automatic Aid program in which each city’s nearest or readily available fire or ambulance emergency unit would be dispatched to shared border areas. In the fall of 1995, CSFD celebrated 25 years of service to the citizens of College Station and surrounding communities.
College Station Fire Department obtained accreditation through the Commission on Fire Accreditation International in March 2016. A new computer aided dispatch system was installed in 2017 which upgraded the handling capacity of the dispatch center, allowed for fire apparatus to be monitored and dispatched using location data, and ensured that the department would have a system in place to allow for the future growth of the community.
In 2019, the City of College Station was issued an ISO Class 1 rating by the Insurance Service Office. This highest rating, paired with Accreditation, makes College Station Fire Department only 1 of 3 departments in Texas to achieve these awards.
As of 2021 the College Station Fire Department celebrates 50 years of service to the citizens. The department answers more than 10,000 calls for service annually and provides fire suppression, fire prevention, and emergency medical service to more than 125,000 residents. Operating out of 6 fire stations, the department staffs 5 fire engines, 2 platform ladder trucks, 1 quint, 4 ambulances, 1 water tender, 1 airport truck, 1 safety officer, and 1 battalion chief. Additionally, the department operates special teams that includes: hazardous materials, wildland, swift water, bicycle response team, medical task force, and search and rescue.
>> College Station Fire Department 25 Anniversary Book (PDF)