Bean Blossom Township Stinesville Fire Department

The Stinesville Fire Department was formed in 1956 through the efforts of Trustee Felix Goble and Don Taylor.  Don called a meeting in Stinesville for the purpose of organizing a volunteer fire department in a room over the store building owned by Noah Van Buskirk.  Wayne Snooks, Maurice Williams and Quentin Ellett represented the township.  Ray Sullivan, who became the first fire chief, represented the firemen.

The four men located a fire truck in Rock Island, Illinois.  The cost was $3,200.  The question was how would they get the money for the truck and how would they operate with no money?  The men filled out  a financial report with the Gosport Bank.  Trustee Felix Goble backed the signatures through the township.

They had fish dinners and many other fund raisers to pay for the truck and to put the department into operation.  After much work and help from the community, they paid off the truck, built a new building, and bought a new International truck chassis.  They used all the parts they could off of the old fire truck and made a new one from the International chassis.  The newly built fire truck's pumper would hold 750 gallons of water; the old truck held 500.  Don Taylor directed the work on the new truck with the help of the firemen.  The building was under the direction of Harry McGlocklin with assistance from the firemen.

On January 21, 1971 at 5:00 a.m., there was a fire that the volunteers fought valiantly but ran out of water.  They parked the tanker on the south side of the building and Don moved the fire truck back about 200 feet to the north side.  There were four of them in the first truck.  There were two 275-gallon fuel oil tanks next to the house.  The tanks are not supposed to explode, but one did sending burning oil all over the fire truck.  Don Taylor, Steve Baker, and Ron McGlocklin were badly burned.  Others were injured, but not quite as severely.  All survived.

On November 15. 1971 Don Lake, Ron Taylor, and Don Taylor left the department.  Ron McGlocklin stayed on for several years before leaving to become a police officer for the Town of Ellettsville.  Don Lake and Don Taylor were given honorary membership on the Bean Blossom Township Fire Department under the direction of the new fire chief, John Figg.

From the beginning of the fire department, the Ladies Auxiliary was formed and recognized by the State of Indiana as one of the few that were certified.  These ladies worked very hard for the department, raising money and responding to the station or to the fire scene with food and drinks for the firefighters.  As the years went one, there were, on occasion, times when the ladies went on a fire run to help fight a fire because most of the men at the time worked during the day and there was no one around to respond.  We were very lucky to have these ladies and they will never be forgotten.

In 1999 Bean Blossom Trustee, Vera Francke, and the township advisory board (Vernal Chafin, Danny Bowman, and Eugene Myers) began the process of obtaining the funds to purchase a 2000 International tanker for the department.  This is the first vehicle purchased by the township and has been a major asset to the department.

In 2003 James Isom, who joined the department in June of 1963, officially retired from fire service after 40 years.  An open house for Jim was held and he received numerous awards, including the Sagamore of the Wabash on behalf of the Governor's Office, which was presented to him by the State Fire Marshall.  Jim holds the record for the most years of service as a volunteer firefighter in the State of Indiana.

2006 marked the 50th anniversary of the Bean Blossom Township/Stinesville Fire Department and a lot of changes have occurred between 1956 and now.  The department is Monroe County's oldest ALL volunteer department and one of two in the county that is privately owned and operated by all volunteers.  The department is state certified in emergency medical services.  Most of the members have been certified as a First Responder, or as an Emergency Medical Technician, and all have been certified in hazardous material.

January 1, 2008, the department was blessed with the acquistion of a new fire truck through a federal grant from the Department of Homeland Security.  This truck was a special order from Ferrara and it was built to fit the bay in the fire department.  It is a 6 man cab with a top mount pump.  It carries 1,000 gallons of water and can pump 1,250 GPM.   We are especially proud of this new truck and show it off every chance we get.  The department is also proud to announce that they have received a new thermal imaging camera (TIC) thanks to another grant from the Department of Homeland Security. 

In the Spring of 2008 the Stinesville Fire Corps, Citizens Helping Fire & EMS was established.  The Fire Corps is a locally-driven Citizen Corps program that enables community members to offer their time and talents to their local fire/EMS department in a non-emergency capacity.  Fire Corps provides opportunities for community members to assist your department by performing non-emergency tasks and roles, enabling department members to focus on emergency response and training. 

We would thank the citizens of Bean Blossom Township and the Town of Stinesville for their loyal and dedicated service to our department.
                               

                                                                                  Stinesville Fire Department