Robert Smith served as Fire Chief from 1970 to 1985.
In 1970 the City agreed to respond to fires in the county. The county provided a 1970 model pumper and the maintenance while Centerville Fire Department provided the volunteers to operate the equipment and respond to emergency calls. City equipment is used in the City for emergency calls and County equipment is used for the County emergency calls.
The 1980's brought a change in the fire service by employing 1st responders to stabilize people with medical problems until Emergency Medical Services could arrive. 1st responders are trained to handle first aid, heart attacks and child birth.
Frank Wadsworth was hired as a part time Fire Chief in 1985.
In 1988 the City bought a second Class A pumper and in 1991 the ISO rating dropped to a class 5.
Chief Wadsworth gained full time status in 1995 at which time the City also hired a lieutenant and a firefighter to enable them to have their first around the clock firefighters on duty.Today We have Chief Wadsworth, Assistant Chief Sharpless, Captain Brumfield on duty Monday thru Friday 8am-5pm. Also We have Lieutenant Jones, Firefighter Dorman, and Firefighter Morgan on 24 hour on and 48 hour off shifts. Also Volunteers are a big part of our response to emergency calls.
Our rescue unit carries an automatic defibrillator with rescue equipment such as the Jaws of Life.
