Indian River County Fire Department History

Few people remember the first large fire that contributed to the development of the Vero Beach Fire Department. During the early morning hours of Sunday, November 16, 1919 a downtown fire destroyed the main business section of Vero Beach, which at the time was located on the south side of Osceola Boulevard (now 20th Street) between 14th and 15th Avenues. This building was located where Skiscim's Camera Shop is located today.
It was between 2:00 and 3:00 in the morning that the cry "fire, fire, help, help," was sent out in the night air, rousing sleeping people into wakefulness and activity. Mrs. C.E. Sandison, living in the west front room of the Redstone block was the first to discover the flames and called for help by alarming nearby residents. The residents barely had time to put on a coat or a wrap over their sleepwear. The entire block was speedily abandoned. Soon a hundred men hurriedly formed bucket brigades to fight the fire. The damage was estimated at $73,000 with only $15,300 which was covered by insurance. This was an astronomical amount for those times.
On July 13, 1921, the City of Vero Beach recorded a resolution to purchase the first City fire truck. Prior to this, the extent of local fire suppression was a hand drawn cart containing a chemical foam unit manned by whomever was available at the time of an emergency. The second great fire that threatened to destroy our developing town was on October 11, 1921. The fire began in the home of Lee Howard at about 10 o'clock in the morning. The little home was soon a roaring furnace and volunteers turned their efforts toward saving the warehouse of the Redstone Lumber Yard on Osceola Boulevard that was just 25 feet away. Building after building was soon afire and the flames leaped in rapid succession from the Howard cottage warehouse, to the main lumber shed of Redstone Lumber Yard. The rapid spread of the fire was recalled when the fire started at 10 o'clock and before noon, six buildings had been burned to the ground.
June 24, 1922, the City Council recognized the need for a fire station, and voted to build a City Hall, with provision for a fire station in part of the building to house the Model T Ford fire truck. The fire service was organized as the Vero Beach Volunteer Fire Department on December 17, 1923, It was in 1925, when the fire department became a paid department and received its first paid Fire Chief, Charles D. Toole and one paid fireman, J. L. Kersey.

Central Fire Station
It wasn't until April 13, 1950, that the first Central Fire Station was built, it was located where the Downtown Post Office parking lot is located today. At that time, there were three pieces of equipment, consisting of two pumpers and one brush truck, the Fire Chief and four paid men. In 1981, the Vero Beach Fire Department was expanded into the South Indian River County Fire District covering 77th Street South to the county line. 1991 marks the date that the North Fire District, South Fire District, and West Fire District were merged into what is know today as the Indian River County Department of Emergency Services District.

Consolidated Fire and EMS services
On December 30, 2005 the department consolidated into the Indian River County Fire Rescue Division. The division consists of the Fire Prevention Bureau, 11 career fire-rescue stations and 1 volunteer station covering the 511 square miles of Indian River County (excluding Indian River Shores). The Fire Rescue stations are staffed by 224 career Firefighters, Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians and 33 volunteers providing 24/7 emergency response over a wide range of incident types.

Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
In the spring of 2007, a 16,000 square foot building rated to withstand winds of 200 mph was constructed west of the Vero Beach Municipal Airport. This building serves as the Indian River County Emergency Operations Center. When activated, it is the location for personnel trained for and authorized to represent their agency. This building serves as a centralized center of communications from multiple agencies. These skilled professional personnel will coordinate initial as well as ongoing essential resources for incidents ranging from hurricanes, brush fires and major medical emergencies. Emergency Management and essential Fire-Rescue administration are housed here under the Emergency Services Department. The building also facilitates frequent training with local, state, and federal agencies.

Future Plans
Balancing the increased demand for timely response by Fire-Rescue with a fiscally sound long term strategic plan is paramount. In preparation to provide uniform quality services a new Fire-Rescue station is planned for 49th Street adjacent to Gifford, and another planned for 4th Street and 43rd Avenue.