Denver Fire Dept., Colo (DFD)

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About Denver Fire Dept., Colo (DFD)

This group is dedicated to the men and women of the Denver Fire Department (DFD) that protect the citizens of Denver, Colorado the "Mile High City" 24 hours a day/7 days a week. We invite all who would like to help honor the DFD Firefighters in pictures to post them here.

Brief Denver Fire Dept. History:
In 1866, a letter was circulated asking for signatures of those interested in forming a fire department. Fifty signatures were obtained. The Denver Hook and Ladder Company #1 was founded on March 25, 1866 and was an all volunteer company. A uniform was decided on and the $13.00 cost was paid by each fireman. The firemen were called to put out fires around the city using the bucket brigade method. Buckets of water were passed hand to hand from a water source to the fire.


By 1867, the Fire Company purchased a hand operated engine. This hand-drawn piece of apparatus was used until 1872 and is now housed at the Denver Firefighter's Museum. Large black rubber hoses were attached to one end of the engine and were then placed in a water source such as a creek or cistern. Ten men would stand on either side and raise and lower two wooden bars which caused the pump to pull water into the engine through the hoses and onto the fire. The men worked hard to create enough pressure to force the water through approximately 100 feet of hose.


In December of 1880, a fire ordinance was passed which provided for the appointment of one Fire Marshal, two Engineers, two Stokers, two Captains, six Drivers, six horsemen, four ladder-men, and seven Janitors. Each position now earned a salary. This ordinance ushered in the era of paid firefighters and horse drawn fire apparatus.


In 1909 the Denver Fire Department purchased its first gasoline powered fire engines, which is the same year that the original fire station #1 was demolished and firefighters moved into the new fire station #1, now the Denver Firefighters Museum. Over the next decades the Denver Fire Department, as well as the entire city, grew. By 1924 the entire fire department was motorized and horses were no longer used to pull fire engines. By 1946, there were 22 fire stations. Today, there are over 30 stations.

Want to learn more about the Denver Fire Department, go to their website at:
www.denvergov.org/Default.aspx?alias=www.denvergov.org/Fi...