History

According to historical documents obtained from alarm reports, Gainesville City Council meeting minutes, library archives, newspaper articles, station logbooks and a historical summary written in 1976 by staff writer Debby Prince of The Gainesville Times, the present Gainesville Fire Department grew out of a volunteer firefighting company formed nearly 150 years ago, known as the Gainesville Hook and Ladder Co. The City of Gainesville apparently had no organized fire suppression services for the first 54 years following its incorporation in 1821.

Prince cited that, in December 1851, the City was practically destroyed by fire, according to reports, but it wasn't until 20-plus years later that there was any report of an organized firefighting unit being formed.

However, on Feb. 18, 1876, the Gainesville Eagle reported that a "committee from the Gainesville Hook and Ladder Co. notified the [Gainesville City] Council of its organization and the election of officers; and asked the Council for equipment for service. Alderman Banks moved that the thanks of the Council, on behalf of the citizens, be tendered to the Gainesville Hook and Ladder Co. for its organization."

In an 1876 report by Mayor D.G. Candler, recorded in the Council minutes, it was stated that $484.14 had been expended for the purchase of firefighting equipment. In the earliest days of the paid fire department, there were only four men working. These firefighters remained on duty at Gainesville City Hall six days a week, 21 hours a day, taking only one hour off for each meal. Each man had one day and one night off throughout the week, and a 15-day vacation once a year. Salaries were $90 a month for the chief and $75-$80 a month per firefighter.

Historically significant dates in the Gainesville Fire Department's past

1800s

• 1878 - A house was rented from Thomas Wilson for $5 a month to house the Gainesville Hook and Ladder Co., which later moved to a livery stable in downtown Gainesville.
  • The newly purchased fire equipment required repairs at an expense of 60 cents, according to Gainesville City Council records.
• May 4, 1878 - The Gainesville Hook and Ladder Co. held its first organized social activity – a picnic held at New Holland featuring music, dancing, ten pins and billiards. It was a tradition that continued for several years, eventually becoming the Fireman's Ball, which is no longer held. By 1879, the picnic was so popular that the entire town was invited to join the procession going from the square to Stringer's Ford on the Chattahoochee River four miles north of town. "The Library Association, the Sunday Schools and visitors in the city are especially invited," an invitation in the weekly newspaper stated.
• 1878 - A funeral was held for a Gainesville Hook and Ladder Co. member. Charles Bradley, son of Mayor Bradley, died of Typhoid Fever. "The coffin was borne to the cemetery on the truck of Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1 (of which he had been a member)," records state.
• Jan. 8, 1879 - Historic City of Gainesville records indicate that three years after its organization, the Gainesville Hook and Ladder Co. had its "baptism in fire" when five of the best business houses in the city burned, including several law offices and valuable libraries. The fire started around 3 a.m. in the building known as the Candler-Henderson Building, located on the north side of the historic square in downtown Gainesville. Between two stories, it housed five or six law offices, the printing offices of The North Georgian, a tailor shop and a sleeping room.
• Jan. 20, 1879 - Gainesville City Council meeting minutes state Alderman Bradley presented a resolution that the mayor and Council take speedy steps to secure a good fire engine and dig cisterns while organizing an efficient City fire department at a reasonable cost.
• February 1879 - The Gainesville Eagle reported that the Gainesville City Council had negotiated a deal with the City of Barnesville to purchase a hand engine. In anticipation of the arrival of the engine, a meeting was held to reorganize the company under the name of "Protection Fire Company No. 1".
  • The Council minutes stated that the Gainesville Hook and Ladder Co. would be turned over to a complement of 15 black men. With both of these companies in place, the City of Gainesville now had a complement of an engine company and a ladder company.
• February 1886 - A representative of Protection Fire Company No. 1, D.E. Evans, appeared before the Gainesville City Council to ask for a new steam fire engine. A petition from the Queen City Steam Fire Engine Co. No. 2 asking for the new engine was read. Later that month, it was decided to accept a new Silsby steam-powered pumper truck. Later in the same year, 1,000 feet of hose for the steam engine was purchased from B.F. Goodrich and Co., plus one hose cart.
• 1888 - According to Chamber minutes and the Mayor's Annual Report of January 1888, Gainesville's firefighting services consisted of three "companies": the Gainesville Hook and Ladder Co., Protection Fire Company No. 1 and the Queen City Steam Fire Engine Co. No. 2 with a total of 85 men.
• 1899 - The Gainesville Hook and Ladder Co. moved into their new home, the newly built Gainesville City Hall on the corner of South Main and West Broad streets. A 600-pound fire bell was hung in the frame atop the new structure, and it sounded an alarm every time there was a fire.

1900s

• 1902 - Newspaper stories began referring to the Gainesville Hook and Ladder Co. as the "Gainesville Fire Department".
• 1902-03- The Gainesville Fire Department became a career all-paid fire department.
  • The Gainesville Fire Department (GFD) welcomes Dan and Henry, two legendary horses used to pull a GFD fire wagon. The horses were provided by R. Henry Smith, GFD's first paid chief and son of Gainesville's first-ever mayor, William Pugh Smith. Reportedly, Henry Smith's son, Paul Smith of Paul Smith Cleaners, shared of his father's expertise with horses and that he kept two – Dan and Henry. Paul Smith shared his father could get Dan and Henry hooked up to the fire wagon and the wagon out of the station in the same amount of time it would take a firefighter to crank up a truck today. There were harnesses in the station mounted with weights and pulleys. They could be pulled down, and the collars snapped on the horses in just a few seconds, and the horses, too, would be ready. Paul Smith said, "They could tell when the phone rang whether it was a fire or not."
• 1903 - The City of Gainesville's first paid fire chief, R. Henry Smith, assumed his duties. He was the son of Gainesville's first-ever mayor, William Pugh Smith, and father to Paul Smith of Paul Smith Cleaners.
• 1916 - The City of Gainesville purchased its first motorized fire truck. The new fire truck, a 110-horsepower six-cylinder American LaFrance fire engine, was equipped with an 800-gallon-per-minute pump and 1,500 feet of fire hose, plus ladders, axes, crowbars, a chemical tank and chemical hose. The City paid $9,000 for the truck, and it was said the purchase would reduce insurance rates.
• 1916 - R. Henry Smith, who as Chief was also a driver, was replaced for a short time as a driver by a soft drink truck driver named Irvin Ledford, father of Roy Ledford, who later became the Assistant Fire Chief in the 1970s. Chief Smith was succeeded by Chief Bartow Parks.
• 1917 - Under the direction of Chief Bartow Parks, the Gainesville Fire Department assisted Atlanta Fire & Rescue in fighting four large fires that (according to a Gainesville News article) rendered thousands homeless and millions of dollars of property lost. Fire departments from numerous cities rushed to Atlanta on special trains; along with them was Chief Parks, a complement of firemen and the American LaFrance engine. The Atlanta firemen, who were dynamiting homes to prevent the fire from spreading, asked for assistance. According to both Paul Smith and Roy Ledford, their fathers participated in loading the American LaFrance pumper onto a railroad flatcar before traveling to Atlanta.
• 1922 - Bud Smith was named chief of the Gainesville Fire Department, succeeding former Chief Bartow Parks.
• April 19, 1925 - Many Gainesville Fire Department personnel escaped death, just barely, when one of the biggest fires ever to hit Gainesville ignited that spring. The old Hunt Opera House on the corner of East Washington and North Bradford streets burned to the ground, but not before destroying two-thirds of the buildings on the block. Firemen from several nearby towns – Atlanta, Buford, Cornelia and Winder – were called to help fight the fire, which caused several walls to collapse, nearly trapping responding personnel.
• 1927 - The City of Gainesville purchased a fire truck from American LaFrance, a prominent American manufacturer of fire trucks and other emergency vehicles, known for its long history and significant contributions to the fire service. It was the second engine the City purchased from American LaFrance, and it carried a 750-gallon-per-minute pump. The truck became known as "Leapin' Lena" and is still owned by the Gainesville Fire Department today.
• 1928 - Bud Smith was succeeded by Jimmy Cain as chief of the Gainesville Fire Department (GFD). Cain, who settled in Gainesville after moving from Atlanta, first introduced fire drills into Gainesville City Schools. An article in the Sept. 11, 1928 edition of Gainesville News stated "... a system of fire drills were to be inaugurated immediately!" That same year, GFD answered 69 calls for service and reported a fire loss of $28,133.25.
• 1936 - Henry Smith was once again named chief of the Gainesville Fire Department (GFD), allowing Jimmy Cain to serve as a GFD fireman.
  • The notorious 1936 tornado not only caused fires throughout the City of Gainesville, but also created hardships for GFD firemen by tearing up water pipes. Historical records show that at one time, a pants factory, Pruitt-Barrett Hardware Co., was located in a five-story building, and Jack Sacks was going "full blast" with the firemen having less than 20 pounds of water pressure to fight the fires. The tornado also destroyed Gainesville City Hall, which housed GFD, and carried the fire bell across the street, dropping it through the roof of another building. As a result of the damage, GFD got a new home in the late 1930s. The new fire station, better known as "Green Street Station," was located on Green Street across from the newly built City Hall and served as the department's nerve center for over 40 years.
• 1939 - Jimmy Cain, once again, was named chief of the Gainesville Fire Department. Cain replaced former Chief R. Henry Smith.
• 1942 - When the Gainesville Fire Department (GFD) was still headquartered on Green Street, R.E. "Sparky" Spence was named chief of the Gainesville Fire Department. At just 30 years old, Spence became the youngest chief in GFD history. During the week of Spence's appointment, newspaper articles state he "answered five alarms with one alarm that received $35 in damages caused by flames."
• 1954 - Gainesville Fire Department (GFD) Station No. 2 was built on Holly Drive. During the almost 40 years GFD operated at the Green Street headquarters, firemen were called time after time to large fires in downtown that threatened entire business blocks. Two such fires were those at First Baptist Church in February 1960, which was believed to be caused by an arsonist and destroyed the church; and the Poultry Enterprises processing plant fire in 1967, which put over 400 people out of work, despite the GFD's use of a ladder truck, four pumpers and a rescue unit. At the time, the Salvation Army set up a food line to serve over 40 GFD personnel who battled the fire.
• 1967 - Chief R.E. "Sparky" Spence remained with the Gainesville Fire Department until his death. At the time of his demise, Spence was the longest-serving fire chief with 25 years of service.
  • In a called emergency meeting by the Gainesville City Council, held on a Saturday, John Phillips was appointed chief of the Gainesville Fire Department. Phillips remained Chief until 1971.
• Nov. 4, 1971 - Verner "Sug" Hamrick was appointed chief of the Gainesville Fire Department (GFD). Hamrick joined GFD Jan. 1, 1947, and devoted 44 years to GFD – 20 as chief.
• 1975 - Chief Verner "Sug" Hamrick moved the Gainesville Fire Department (GFD) into the new Public Safety Building, located at 118 Jesse Jewell Parkway.
• 1977 - Chief Verner "Sug" Hamrick led GFD to become one of Georgia's first "certified" fire departments under the new program. From there, Hamrick began preparing the department for future growth in Gainesville, pushing for what would become the third fire station on Nancy Creek Road off Thompson Bridge Road.
• 1991 - Upon his retirement, Chief Verner "Sug" Hamrick was the second longest-serving chief to date in the history of the Gainesville Fire Department.
  • Chief Verner "Sug" Hamrick's successor, A.B. Sailors, was appointed chief of the Gainesville Fire Department (GFD). Sailors served in the role less than a year before retiring from the fire service, though he had previously devoted 34 years to GFD after joining in 1957. During his tenure, Sailors served as chairman of the Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund Board of Trustees for several years and was instrumental in preparing for GFD Station No. 3.
• In 1991, Chief David Chapman succeeded Chief Sailors as Fire Chief. Chief Chapman had served as the Fire Marshal for 17 years prior to his appointment to Chief. During Chief Chapman's tenure, the department experienced several changes. Fire Station Number 3 began construction and was completed. With the new fire station, twelve new personnel were hired in 1993. Chief Chapman implemented pre-hire physicals for all new firefighters and new training standards. Also, under his leadership, the Gainesville Fire Department obtained an ISO Class 2 rating.

2000-current

• 2013 - Jerome Yarbrough was named chief of the Gainesville Fire Department. An internal hire, Yarbrough was the City of Gainesville's first African-American fire chief and served the City for 37 years before retiring in December 2021.
• 2022 - Succeeding longtime former Fire Chief Jerome Yarbrough, Brandon Ellis was named chief of the Gainesville Fire Department, effective January 2022.
• April 2025 - The Gainesville Fire Department, in partnership with the Gainesville Police Department, breaks ground on the City of Gainesville’s new Public Safety Training Complex, located on Fullenwider Road in the Gainesville 85 Business Park. The complex was slated to be complete by early 2026.
• May 2025 - Land for Gainesville Fire Department Station No. 5 was secured along Highway 129 South, while designs for Station No. 5 were finally completed.
• July 4, 2025 - The Gainesville Fire Department (GFD) unveils its first-ever fire boat on Lake Sidney Lanier prior to a Fourth of July fireworks show. Using the boat, GFD was able to maintain a public safety presence for boaters and jet-skiers present on the water.