Volunteers Fought the Fires in Ramona in the Early Days

Back in earlier times, the clanging of a sledgehammer on a huge steel ring alerted the townsfolk that there was a fire. Neighbors would rush to the scene and work, many times throughout the night, to put out the fire before it could spread too far.

There was no official fire department until 1924 when the supported a suggestion by local businessman John Bargar that a volunteer fire department needed to be formed.

Bargar, who owned a lumber yard at that time, donated the first piece of equipment, a large fire extinguisher on tall wheels that could be pulled along by the volunteers. That first fire alarm, the metal ring and sledgehammer, also came from Bargar. The ring originally was on a railroad engine tire.

There wasn’t much fire-fighting equipment in those days. It was mostly what the volunteers brought along with them to help extinguish the fires. But three years after the chamber established the volunteer fire department, there were two fire trucks in use. A Reo truck was donated by Bargar in 1927 and Charley Weseloh, owner of Ramona’s Chevrolet agency, added a 1923 Dodge truck to the fire department. The Reo was equipped with a 50-gallon water tank and the Dodge had 600 feet of hose. The county donated two ladders.

Bargar, whose name pops up throughout Ramona’s history, served as the town’s first fire chief. In his book Ramona & Roundabout, Charles LeMenager lists the following among Ramona’s early fire chiefs: William Cannon, 1928 to 1931; “Cap” Williams, 1931 to about 1942; Claude Oates; and Jack Jones.

In 1959, Erwin Bernhard became the first fire chief to receive a salary. He served for two years, followed by Ed Eller, Rick Robertson, Bill Wright, Dan Williams, Von Rupple, John Allen and Karl Diekman, over the next 30 years. The chief was the only one to get a paycheck until the early 1970s when firefighters went from volunteers to paid status.

The chamber had formed the Fire Department Affairs committee in 1931 and appointed commissioners to take charge: William Hanigan, who served for more than 50 years, Charley Weseloh. T.S. Hewlett, George Kayser and L.P. Coddington.

Letters were sent to local residents, soliciting subscriptions for fire protection. Annual donations from a few dollars to as much as $1,200 came in, according to LeMenager’s book. The program continued operating on donations until 1946 when the Ramona Fire Protection District was formed. The initial cost to taxpayers was assessed at $2 million for the first year.

As the town began to grow, the need for a permanent fire station was soon realized. Previously, the fire trucks were parked on private property. There was talk of building a shed on skids that could be moved from place to place, as additional storage places were needed.

The first station was built in 1952 at 222 Ninth St. for $7,500, with room for three engines, an office and a squad room. Volunteers finished the inside work, making improvements to the station at a cost of less than $600.

Today, the old station is home to a glass company that calls itself . A new station was built on San Vicente Road with other stations on Dye Road and San Vicente Road.

Ramona Fire Protection District became known as Ramona Fire Department in 1982 when operations were taken over by .

History of Ramona Fire Department was researched in the book Ramona & Roundabout by Charles R. LeMenager, and at .