History
The following was written by former District Chief, Martin Jensen in March of 1988. It was a letter given to new members of the Fernley Volunteer Fire Department:
Welcome and congratulations for having been accepted into the Fernley Volunteers Fire Department. In order to better understand how, when and why the Fire Department was established I have put together a little history of the Town of Fernley.
In the 1900s to the early 1920s the U.S. Government began what is now known as the Truckee Irrigation District or TCID Newlands Project, which started near Fernley and ended up in Fallon. The only large structure, in what is now known as Fernley, was a water tower for the steam engines of the Southern Pacific Railroad and a few homes.
Wadsworth was a small town with a church and school and a wheel house for the engines. Most everyone who lived there worked for the railroad.
The 30’s saw a small farm community develop in Fernley along with some small business. U.S. Highway 40, which is now I-80 was the main street of town. There are some remnants of it still in use. Part of U.S. 40 can be found behind the State Department of Transportation Yard on the west end of town and there are some abandoned strips on the east end of town. The 30’s and 40’s brought in more people and the community began to grow with schools and churches.
In the early 50’s the only water system in town was a redwood water line went down Miller Lane and was used for stock water and gardens. Some homes were using it for drinking water. TCID who had built the line had never intended it to be used for domestic purposes. During that time a water district was formed by citizens of Fernley. An old redwood tank was brought up from Tonopah. The tank was never used and people began to help themselves to the lumber. Parts of the tank later became the beams and rafters of the Fire House.
On September 13th, 1951 ground was broken for the Fire House, it was decided to build a three door block building. In 1953 the building was completed and is now a two door portion of the main building. A used 1937 Ford Truck was given to the department by George Campbell and a 500 GPM Hale pump with a 1936 Ford flathead V-8 motor was installed on it. It has been said the pump came from the Hawthorne Fire Department. The pump and motor are now in storage. In 1952 North Lyon County Fire Protection District was formed. Later in 1956 the first factory made fire truck was delivered in sparks on a flat car by Southern Pacific for the Fire Department. It was a brand new 1956 American LaFrance 750 GPM Ford Class A Pumper with a 1,000 gallon water tank. The Fire Air Horn and Siren were installed in the sixties.
In the 70’s a 40’x70’ addition with two doors was added on to the east side of the Fire House. In 1972 the Fire Department bought a used 1964 Dodge Power Wagon from L.A. Power and Water for $500.00 and a brush truck was made from it by using the old Hale 500 GPM pump and building a 300 gallon water tank. On October 29th, 1976 North Lyon County Fire Protection District purchased a 1976 American LaFrance 1250 GPM Class A Pumper for the Fire Department, also in that year a new ambulance was ordered and later purchased with grant money and department funds. It was delivered in 1977. This made the fourth ambulance purchased by the department. In October of 1977 the North Lyon County Fire Protection District purchased a used 1970 white long frame truck and made a 4,000 gallon tanker out of it for about $10,000.00.
Early in 1980 the Fire Department received the custom built Dodge 4×4 Mini Pumper which served as a brush truck. It was purchased by North Lyon County Fire Protection District. On October 13th, 1980 the Williams Garage located on the west side of the Fire House was purchased by North Lyon County Fire Protection District with Fleischmann Funds for $115,000 also the 1981 Chevrolet 4×4 Rescue Truck which was designed and partially constructed by members of the Fire Department was also purchased with Fleischmann Grant Funds for approximately $46,000.00. At the time of purchase it was decided to buy an ambulance that could be changed from one chassis to another… On June 24th, 1982 the Fire Department members added the kitchen onto the Fire House and the old storage room was turned into a training room in August 1986. The old kitchen was remodeled into an office in 1987.
September 28th, 1987 construction started on the new four door building between the Fire House and the old Williams Garage at a cost of $90,000.00. Also in September a contract was signed to purchase a 1500 GPM Class A Pumper for $138,000.00.
In closing, the future looks bright for the Fire Department and for the community with many more projects planned for future growth. The Fernley Volunteer Fire Department has a fine tradition through the years and has always worked hard to give the community a first class service. The Fernley Volunteer Fire Department relies on every member to do more than their share to keep up the high tradition and standards of this Department, which means a total commitment by each and everyone of us.
Martin Jensen
Administrative Chief – N.L.C.F.P.D.
More to come from 1988 to present.