In the beginning…
Lakeland officially began as a community in 1885 and in its early days experienced several fires that would lead to the eventual organization of a fire company. Fire protection in Lakeland started as early as 1891 with the purchase of two dozen buckets, a few axes, and a ladder for use by bucket brigades. By 1905, after three disastrous fires swept through and leveled several major commercial areas in Lakeland, the need for an organized fire brigade was apparent and the call was answered by several highly involved community members, including H.L. Swatts who would go on to be the department’s first leader. These events prompted community leaders to secure funding for the department’s first major equipment purchases: two portable fire engines that could be drawn by hand or horse.
Transitioning into a career fire department…
Fortunately for Lakeland, its leaders saw the need for real and organized fire protection for its citizens’ lives and property. Between 1905 and 1908 major investments were made into what was then a loose group of volunteer firefighters. By 1909 a volunteer fire department was formally organized and granted horses, wagons, and the best available firefighting equipment by the city commission. The volunteer department’s numbers grew to meet the increased demand from the city’s steady growth and by 1913 the department had purchased its first motorized vehicle, an American La France pumper. 1913 also marked when the department transitioned from Chief Swatts to Chief Joseph LeVay, a local shop owner, whose oversight helped the department make major steps toward becoming the career department it is today. The 1910s saw the expansion of a citywide, alarm system and the purchase of additional firefighting engines.
Making progress…
The growth seen during those years came to fruition when the Lakeland Fire Department became a career fire department on August 1, 1916, with Ben Driscoll serving as its first career Fire Chief. With the 1920s came two new substations that were later shuttered in the depression-era of the 1930s. Fortunately, thanks to the post-war boom, Lakeland flourished in the 1940s and its population grew, creating higher demand for emergency response. By 1949, two full stations were added to serve Lakeland. Improvements and additions have been made to the department every decade since with exciting additions like Technical Rescue in the 1980s; the formal creation of two separate battalions in 2004; the addition of Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting (ARFF) in 2007; the addition of a new truck company in December 2014 that came with the anticipated opening of new Fire Station 7 in January 2015.
Like many fire departments in the nation, the demand and volume of fire versus medical calls have completely shifted, and today of the nearly 25,000 service calls the department receives annually, a majority are medical in nature. On December 15, 2003, LFD moved from providing Basic Life Support (BLS) medical services to Advanced Life Support (ALS) medical services at some of its stations and completed the transition to ALS care for its entire service area by January 31, 2011. The department remains a non-transport department.
On August 5, 2019, the Lakeland Fire Department welcomed its newest fire engine, Engine 51, into service. This is an exciting addition to the department because Engine 51 is the Lakeland Fire Department’s first clean-cab concept apparatus. E 51, and all other fire engines to come, are specially designed to protect the department’s firefighters from unnecessary exposure to carcinogens.
Community members, leaders, and City of Lakeland officials were in attendance to welcome the new apparatus at Fire Station 5 and learn more about its new features. Engine 51 is a Pierce Velocity fire engine. The new fire engine replaces the existing Engine 51 as part of the department’s regularly scheduled replacement cycle. The new fire engine features several new protections for firefighters as part of the department’s safety and health initiatives while remaining cost-neutral. The new features, designed to minimize exposures to harmful carcinogens include exterior storage for self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA), tools, and equipment; non-porous interiors for easy cleaning; HEPA filters through the interior cabin to eliminate outside contaminants; diesel exhaust removal system to eliminate harmful byproducts from the apparatus’ engine; and outside storage for used bunker gear.
Download the Engine 51 fact sheet here.
You can take an in-depth look at the new fire engine, learn more about its features in detail, and see what the welcome ceremony looked like here.