About the Fire District

The Estacada Rural Fire District protects 88 square miles from 2 fire stations. There are 10 career and 40 volunteer firefighters that respond to approximately 1,300 alarms annually. About 70% of the alarms are medical responses.

A History of the Estacada Rural Fire District

By David R. Long, Lieutenant

As the landscape of early Estacada changed, the need for fire protection increased, as did the availability of fire equipment and fire stations. It may be that the City of Estacada had the first rural fire department in the State of Oregon.

The city street names were different in 1905. SE 5th Street off highway 224 was 1st Street and the street's were numbered straight north to 10th Street (currently 6th Street between Estacada Junior and Estacada High School). "My personal opinion the old street naming was less confusing than the present one."

In early 1904 the Oregon Water Power Townsite Company (OWPTC) planned and created the town of Estacada that become the City of Estacada in May 1905. The OWPTC also built the early water system that included the Regan Hill reservoir and two fire hydrants. The first hydrant was placed at 3rd & Broadway and one at 1st & Broadway (the old hotel Estacada site at track side). Records indicate that the railway company purchased the first firefighting equipment and started a volunteer fire department, and too built the first fire station. The records are vague and give a date of sometime in 1901. However, the rails did not reach Estacada until 1903. It is possible that the Oregon Water Power & Railroad Co. planned to use this equipment for fire protection along the rail line between Barton and Cazadero, and too or until the incorporation of the City of Estacada. "Records from the OWPTC are vague."

The earliest known photo of Estacada taken in 1906-07 shows a small pitched roof building on NE corner of the hotel Estacada block (junction of Main and 4th Ave. today). This small building was facing 4th Ave. The building looks to be no more than 8' x 12'. If it was the station it would have housed the two industrial hose carts, bunker gear, and tools. The fire bell (same one used today) was purchased in December 1904. It has a 34 diameter and cost $45.00. In early 1905 a bell tower was erected next to Zobrist Street and todays 4th ave. (behind the Trails Inn Cafe).

A better known station was the Estacada City Hall and Fire Station at 3rd & Broadway across from Key Bank - next to the pet shop & Scenes & Beans building. The station drive way is still there and is used for events in the grass lot. This station was built sometime between 1908 & 1909 the true date is unknown. A bell tower was added to the city hall station a short time later, this tower was built to house the fire bell and to hang wet fire hose. It is thought that the old bell and an air raid siren was put on top of the city hall building sometime in the 1920's. This Estacada City Hall and Fire Station was in use for approximately 30 years.

In 1923 a major fire burned a half block on the east side of Broadway. The fire started in the pool hall and spread north and south taking approximately half a block of old wooden business buildings. The fire department must have felt a need to upgrade for they acquired a 1921 or 1922 model T Ford and converted it to a fire engine, or more of a motorized hose wagon with ladders and tools.

A new Estacada City Hall was built in 1938 and the fire department moved into the north end of the building and too occupied the up-stairs. There were 3 bays with two city engines and one rural engine. The up-stairs had a small kitchen, meeting room, offices, and storage. There was a fire pole, but it was removed some time in the 1950's. The old fire bell was put in the dome on top of building and the siren was placed on top of the dome. A brand new fire engine was also ordered during construction of the new city hall/fire station and was the first new engine the fire department received. The engine was a triple combination pumper with a 500 gallon tank, built by Howard Cooper Company with a Seagrave centrifugal 500 gpm pump. The engine was delivered to the City of Estacada on August 31, 1938.

There were two fire departments by this time, one was the City of Estacada Fire Department and the Currinsville-Cazadero Rural Fire Protection District. Most of the rural fire apparatus was stored in barns around the district. In the early 1950's a group of grange members in Springwater were looking into starting there own fire district. The grange had a few volunteers and a flat bed truck with a tank and pump. This started the Estacada Rural Fire Protection District. The city hall station served for 26 yeas and due to consolidation required a much larger station to house all the apparatus and remove them from the barns around the area.

The current Estacada Fire Station was built in 1964 through a bond measure. The new station was a grand station for its time of building. The building was designed for two stories but construction of the foundation cost more than estimated due to the extra large footings in the swampy soil. The station has a bell tower with the original bell from 1904 with the siren above it. A second air raid siren was placed on a pole at 8th & Broadway (North 5th) some time in the 1940's or 50's and was removed in the early 1980's. Other features were inside water pipes to fill fire apparatus instead of connecting to a hydrant, a public entrance for faster service, a larger front pad to ease the fire apparatus daily checks, and a service shop with a exhaust removal system.

In the 1960's through the early 1980's the present fire station was more than just a fire station; it held dances, weddings, casino nights, and many other social events. This modern fire station building of 1964 has served our community for 44 years. With our yearly increased demands for fire services, a new fire station or option to meet community needs is currently being considered. This history story of Estacada Fire Stations will be updated as new/or old information is found or recovered.