100th Anniversary of the Sarasota Fire Department

Sarasota’s Fire Department celebrated it’s 100th year Anniversary.  The Sarasota Fire Department was born out of an urgent need and necessity.  A century ago,the thriving town of Sarasota was burning to the ground one building at a time, mayor H.S. Smith signed Ordinance #55 creating and organizing a Fire Department.  The Sarasota Fire Department was created on September 26, 1911, one hundred years ago.  The Sarasota Fire Department began with the first Fire Chief Henry Behrens and 12 active members.  The Cheif was paid $5.00 and each member was paid $2.00 for each fire call they responded to.  The original hose carts and ladder wagon were pulled by hand through the downtown streets.  Over the years the Department evolved into the City of Sarasota Fire Department, the City of Sarasota Fire-Rescue, and is currently known as the Sarasota County Fire Department (SCFD).

A celebration was held on September 25, 2011 at Fire Station#1, the busiest station in the County.  With over one hundred past and present firefighters and their families in attendance, a formal program was presented which included the Fire Department Honor Guard, and brief presentations by the current and past Fire Chiefs.  Retired Battalion Chief Wayne Welsh, the author of Buckets and Brawn,  presented to the Officers of Station One the original Fire Ax which was originally mounted on the side of the first Chief’s Car and was used by Henry Behrens, the first Fire Chief of the Department.  The Ax will be placed into Station One’s Historical collection for all to enjoy.  The grand finale was a Power-Point slide show presented by Firefighter-Paramedic Michael Sullivan which featured a collection of historical photos.

One thing that has remained constant through the years is the courage and dedication of the Firefighters, Paramedics, and Leadership who risk their lives for the good of the public.

Retired Battalion Chief Wayne Welsh is currently a licensed real estate Broker-Owner with Gulf Shores Realty and sells real estate in the Venice and surrounding areas.  His team, the Welsh Team has recently been awarded the “Best Real Estate Team” by the  Venice Gondolier Sun.  For more information on Venice Florida Homes for sale, call Wayne Welsh at 941-488-6644 or visit http://gulfshoresrealty.com/ .