In January of 1952, after a couple’s home burned to the ground a group of 23 men organized the Converse Volunteer Fire Department. Their first fire truck was a 1946 Dodge truck converted into a fire truck. Alvin J. Brucks was appointed as the first Fire Chief and Eddie Kneupper was appointed the first Fire Marshall, later to be appointed as Converse’s first Mayor.

As Converse has grown, so has the fire department. The Converse fire department has grown from an all volunteer staff to a staff of 33 paid firefighters dual medical and fire certified. Staffing is comprised of a 24 / 48 schedule of 3 shifts with 11 personnel a piece.

Converse is one of the busiest departments in Bexar County. Running over 3000 calls for fire and EMS service a year. Converse runs 2 MICU Ambulances full-time and 1 Reserve Ambulance, 2 Class A Pumpers full-time with 1 Class A Pumper in reserve, 1 Aerial Ladder Truck, 1 Rescue Truck with a Cascade Unit and the “Jaws of Life”, 2 Brush Trucks, a Command Vehicle, a Hazardous Materials Trailer and a Communications Trailer.

In early 2004, the Converse Fire Department took delivery of a 2003 Pierce Aerial Truck. Truck 7 has a 100' platform that can carry 6 people in a fully enclosed cab. As Converse Fire Departments newest fleet addition, it will enable Converse to provide better capabilities to its citizens and those of surrounding areas at multi-story structure fires and rescues.  

On April 8, 2005, the City of Converse held a ground breaking ceremony, preparing for the construction of Converse Fire & EMS Station #2. Station #2 is being built off of Schaefer Rd across from Judson Gray Campus at 8425 Thornton Lane.  It will be approximately 8600 sq ft with a 1000 sq ft training room, bunk rooms, kitchen, day room and three apparatus bays. This station will be home of an Ambulance, Pumper, Truck 7 and will provide a faster response time to the citizens in that part of Converse. Converse will maintain Station #1 as the main fire station and administrative offices of the fire department. The station is expected to open in early 2006.

The Converse Fire & EMS Department has a notable rapid response time and was successful in lowering the city's ISO rating from a “4" to a “2" with a goal to go even lower in the near future.

The Converse Fire Department has a program in which they will do Home Fire Safety Inspections and if needed will install smoke detectors and fire extinguishers at no cost to the residence of it's service area.

For added security, the Converse Fire Department can provide information on Emergency Key Box's (Knox Box) for your home to allow for fire department access in the event of an emergency.

Please contact us for more information on the Home Fire Safety Inspections or the Key Box Program.