Purchased for less than $20,000 in 1953, the pumper truck named Liberty Township No. 1 still evokes pride from firefighters, Chief Paul Stumpf said.
The truck, which was retired in 1988, has only 29,234 miles on it and is brought out for parades and events.
It carries 500 gallons of water and often was accompanied by a converted fuel tanker truck that carried additional water.
“Back when this was in use, there were no hydrants in the township,” he said.
The department, which served a predominantly rural community for years, he said was able to be staffed by farmers and housewives.
“The demographics changed,” said Stumpf, who started full time as the chief in 1994.
In 1974, an ambulance service was started and a second pumper was purchased for the new Yankee Road station that was constructed. As the township grew and fewer people were available during the day to staff the stations, Stumpf said the department phased in part-time firefighters and opened a third station in January of 2005 on 747. The Maustown station on 747 moved to northern Liberty Twp. in March 2010.
“It’s come a long ways in 60 years,” Haskell said. “We’ve got three different fire houses. We’ve got bigger equipment — better equipment. We’ve got a ladder wagon; most of the township has water. We have radio. We have the squad and paramedics.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 755-5067 or lhilty@coxohio.com.
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