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Past History: |
The Converse Volunteer Fire Department
was formed in 1952 after the home of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred
Ullrich burned down. At the time there were about 100 to
150 homes in the City of Converse. On January 22, 1952,
the first general membership meeting was held and
constitutional by-laws were adopted and the first
officers were elected. Alvin J. Brucks was appointed as
the first Fire Chief and served as such for the next 20
years, until 1972. Eddie Kneupper was appointed as the
first Fire Marshall that same year. The first fire truck
that the department had was a 1946 Dodge truck that the
volunteers built into a brush truck. As this was the
only truck at the department's disposal, the truck was
used to fight all types of fires including brush fires,
vehicle fires, and house fires. The first Fire Station
was a two story building that the volunteers built on
the corner of Station Street and Ave B. Although not in
use, the building still stands today. |
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Current: |
Converse is one of the busiest departments
in Bexar County. Running over 2000 calls for
fire and EMS service a year. Converse runs 3
MICU ambulances, 3 class A pumpers, 1 Aerial
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. As of July 2006, the
station has been completed. It is approximately 8600 sq ft with a
1000 sq ft training room, bunk rooms,
kitchen, day room and three apparatus bays.
This station is the home of an ambulance, pumper,
Truck 7, a brush truck 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 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 in
it's service area.
For added security, the Converse Fire
Department can provide information on
Emergency Key Box's for your home to allow
for fire department access in the event of
an emergency.
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