"It is the mission of the West Marshall Volunteer Fire Department to provide the highest and most professional emergency response possible to the citizens of our communities and Marshall County."
This story is a history of the Harvey-Brewers and ENO Fire Departments, the predecessors to the West Marshall Fire Department. These two departments are part of history and legacy and will never be forgotten.
The Harvey-Brewers Fire Department was established in 1985 by residents in the southwest areas in Marshall County, KY. The founding firefighters for the Harvey-Brewers Fire Department donated time and effort to construct a Fire Station at the current address, 5149 Mayfield Highway. With the purchase of used fire trucks and members building fire apparatus, the department was able to thrive on very little funding. For several years, the department operated on a membership basis and received donations from various fish fry fund raisers. These fish fry fund raisers were a popular gathering for the community as well as surrounding areas in Marshall, Graves and Calloway Counties.
As time progressed, it became obvious that fire departments cost a lot of money to operate, and fundraising just won't cut it. After years of efforts raising funds, the Harvey-Brewers Fire Department Board of Directors voted in a fire tax for its residents. This tax created the foundation for improvements in firefighting equipment and technology.
After the tax was enacted, some homeowners felt it wasn't time to pay a fire tax. We then lost a portion of our response district to Pioneer Inc. Even after losing a substantial amount of money with the loss of district, The Harvey-Brewers Fire Department has managed a tough job of balancing one of the lowest funded Fire Departments in Marshall County while striving to provide excellent fire protection and community services.
As the Harvey-Brewers Fire Department approached the mid-late 90’s the scope of response the Fire Department participated in began a change that would eventually define how vital a fire department can be.
The last decade has brought success and prosperity to the Harvey-Brewers Fire Department. Steve Baird assumed the role of Chief in 2000, and retired on January 1st of this year. David Owens retired from the position of Assistant Chief in 2003 and Brian Andrus assumed the title. In 2005 Jonathan Smith was promoted to Assistant Chief during Brian’s extended absence and has remained to assist in Command operations.
Fortune struck in 2003 when the Department of Homeland Security awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant to the Harvey-Brewers Fire Department in order to replace several sets of turnout gear, truck equipment and training materials.
In 2007 fortune favored us once again with the Awarding of another AFG Grant in the amount of $191,000 dollars for a new fire engine. We received the truck in October 2008 and the unit is currently in service as a front-line engine.
Since then we've received several other grants for trucks and equipment, and continue working on grant funding to assist our district.
ELVA-NEW HARMONY - OAK LEVEL FIRE DEPARTMENT
During the same time frame that Harvey-Brewers was struggling for success, residents in the areas in West Central Marshall County were also searching for a solution for fire protection. The communities of Oak Level, Elva and the New Harmony area had no fire protection. Other districts at the time were unable to assist in providing fire protection due to their limited manpower and funding.
The first idea was to contract with the Symsonia Fire Department in Graves County to provide fire protection services. This proved a logistical nightmare to have a department from another County provide services.
It was decided to form the ENO Fire Protection District and make it work. (TBA)
Doug Redden assumed the role as Chief several years ago and he was able to bring the Department from rock bottom to a thriving and successful fire department. For several years ENO and Harvey-Brewers worked side-by-side responding together to many incidents. In 2011, Harvey-Brewers Fire Department and the Elva, New Harmony, Oak Level Fire Departments decided to operate under one operational umbrella. The Departments felt that if they could respond and work as one unit, perhaps they could progress to be a single Fire Department.
After one year of responding as a single entity, the results were amazing. Our average response time went from 11 minutes to 5 minutes. Our average number of responders went from 6 to 13. With figures like that, nobody can successfully argue that a merger would not work. Throughout the months of January and February of 2013, the Fire Boards of Harvey-Brewers and ENO voted to petition the Judge/Executive to merge the two Fire Districts. On April 16, 2013 the order was official. West Marshall Fire Protection District was formed.
There are a lot of hoops to jump through to make this happen, and it is a work in progress. However, a move that is monumental in the fire service and is a win for all the citizens in the district.
We move forward and hopefully will be able to fill this page with more exciting information as we live the story of West Marshall Fire Department.
This story is a history of the Harvey-Brewers and ENO Fire Departments, the predecessors to the West Marshall Fire Department. These two departments are part of history and legacy and will never be forgotten.
The Harvey-Brewers Fire Department was established in 1985 by residents in the southwest areas in Marshall County, KY. The founding firefighters for the Harvey-Brewers Fire Department donated time and effort to construct a Fire Station at the current address, 5149 Mayfield Highway. With the purchase of used fire trucks and members building fire apparatus, the department was able to thrive on very little funding. For several years, the department operated on a membership basis and received donations from various fish fry fund raisers. These fish fry fund raisers were a popular gathering for the community as well as surrounding areas in Marshall, Graves and Calloway Counties.
As time progressed, it became obvious that fire departments cost a lot of money to operate, and fundraising just won't cut it. After years of efforts raising funds, the Harvey-Brewers Fire Department Board of Directors voted in a fire tax for its residents. This tax created the foundation for improvements in firefighting equipment and technology.
After the tax was enacted, some homeowners felt it wasn't time to pay a fire tax. We then lost a portion of our response district to Pioneer Inc. Even after losing a substantial amount of money with the loss of district, The Harvey-Brewers Fire Department has managed a tough job of balancing one of the lowest funded Fire Departments in Marshall County while striving to provide excellent fire protection and community services.
As the Harvey-Brewers Fire Department approached the mid-late 90’s the scope of response the Fire Department participated in began a change that would eventually define how vital a fire department can be.
The last decade has brought success and prosperity to the Harvey-Brewers Fire Department. Steve Baird assumed the role of Chief in 2000, and retired on January 1st of this year. David Owens retired from the position of Assistant Chief in 2003 and Brian Andrus assumed the title. In 2005 Jonathan Smith was promoted to Assistant Chief during Brian’s extended absence and has remained to assist in Command operations.
Fortune struck in 2003 when the Department of Homeland Security awarded an Assistance to Firefighters Grant to the Harvey-Brewers Fire Department in order to replace several sets of turnout gear, truck equipment and training materials.
In 2007 fortune favored us once again with the Awarding of another AFG Grant in the amount of $191,000 dollars for a new fire engine. We received the truck in October 2008 and the unit is currently in service as a front-line engine.
Since then we've received several other grants for trucks and equipment, and continue working on grant funding to assist our district.
ELVA-NEW HARMONY - OAK LEVEL FIRE DEPARTMENT
During the same time frame that Harvey-Brewers was struggling for success, residents in the areas in West Central Marshall County were also searching for a solution for fire protection. The communities of Oak Level, Elva and the New Harmony area had no fire protection. Other districts at the time were unable to assist in providing fire protection due to their limited manpower and funding.
The first idea was to contract with the Symsonia Fire Department in Graves County to provide fire protection services. This proved a logistical nightmare to have a department from another County provide services.
It was decided to form the ENO Fire Protection District and make it work. (TBA)
Doug Redden assumed the role as Chief several years ago and he was able to bring the Department from rock bottom to a thriving and successful fire department. For several years ENO and Harvey-Brewers worked side-by-side responding together to many incidents. In 2011, Harvey-Brewers Fire Department and the Elva, New Harmony, Oak Level Fire Departments decided to operate under one operational umbrella. The Departments felt that if they could respond and work as one unit, perhaps they could progress to be a single Fire Department.
After one year of responding as a single entity, the results were amazing. Our average response time went from 11 minutes to 5 minutes. Our average number of responders went from 6 to 13. With figures like that, nobody can successfully argue that a merger would not work. Throughout the months of January and February of 2013, the Fire Boards of Harvey-Brewers and ENO voted to petition the Judge/Executive to merge the two Fire Districts. On April 16, 2013 the order was official. West Marshall Fire Protection District was formed.
There are a lot of hoops to jump through to make this happen, and it is a work in progress. However, a move that is monumental in the fire service and is a win for all the citizens in the district.
We move forward and hopefully will be able to fill this page with more exciting information as we live the story of West Marshall Fire Department.
