The Livingston Volunteer Fire Department will celebrate 111 years of existence on Aug. 23.
“Those first 100 years were very, very important. There was some good and some bad. I always say, ‘If you don’t know where you’ve been, you’ll never know where you’re going,’” LVFD Chief Corky Cochran said recently when he presented a program on the history of the local volunteer fire department.
“Around 1835, some 80 years before the fire department was formed, Moses Choate established a community called Springfield. Polk County was later established in 1846 and Livingston became Livingston. Think about what those first citizens saw and experienced – Goliad, the Alamo, the Battle of San Jacinto, Texas becoming a Republic and then a state. They saw the Civil War unfold and then saw our country come back together and rebuild. The first railroads, steamboats on the Trinity, cotton, timber and cattle,” Cochran said.
“During that time Livingston had reached approximately 1,000 in population and was a trading hub, but Livingston had major issues, alcohol sales split the town. Over a dozen businesses and saloons were selling alcohol. There were pay day fights, stabbings, shootings, deaths. Livingston was a mini Dodge City and the citizens lived in fear. The citizens called for a wet/dry election to curb the violence. The election was set for Aug. 30, 1902.
“On Aug. 28, one and a half days before the election, the wet supporters burned a part of the business district, I guess thinking that would stop the election. There was no fire department at that time, just citizens forming bucket brigades, to no avail. They stopped the bucket brigades and began rescuing as much merchandise as possible, neighbors helping neighbors. There was terrible loss but no looting. The respect was still there for that property,” Cochran said.
“Not to be deterred, the election was held and prohibition passed. On Oct. 3, 1902, Livingston incorporated. Livingston recovered and progressed, but there was still no fire department, just bucket brigades. Homes and businesses kept buckets of water and sand and a ladder for fire control.
“I have another story I want to share with you, but I want to save it for the end,” Cochran said.
“Moving forward to July 2, 1914, a vision that included fire protection began taking place. The vision included a deep water well, elevated storage tank, several thousand feet of pipe and fire hydrants. On Aug. 24, 1914 a bond issue passed and a water system was approved. The project moved quickly. On April 2, 1915 the system neared completion and Council approved the purchase of three hand-pulled hose reels and 1,500 feet of two and a half-inch hose and nozzles,” Cochran said.
“Next came formation of the fire department. Keenan Peebles was appointed fire chief and Ernest Reuter Sr. was appointed fire marshal. They were tasked with forming a fire department and creating membership and training. Since that time, over 300 people have served.
“On Aug. 23, 1915 the equipment was turned over to the fire department. It did not take long. On Sept. 2, 1915 the fire department responded to a house fire and the fire was making headway. The hose cart from the power plant led by Mr. Reuter started bringing the fire under control. A second cart soon arrived and the house was saved. The department responded to three fires in 1915. On May 18, 1916 there was another major house fire at the Laramore house. It was the fourth fire at this house in four weeks. I’m not sure what was going on there,” Cochran said.
“On November 20, 1923 the fire department sold 1,000 raffle tickets at $1 and the city added $125 and purchased a used Model T Ford truck to haul hose which had been previously transported by hand carts. The truck was housed in a shed next to which was Gerlach Hardware and later J.W. Cochran Co. It was Livingston’s first motorized apparatus.
“On Nov. 20, 1926 with the city and fire department in urgent need of a first class fire truck, the city council approved the purchase of an REO Speed Wagon 500 GPM fire engine at a cost of $4,410. My dad was on the city council and he seconded the motion so I thank him for that,” Cochran said. “On Feb. 4, 1936 Council approved bidding for a new engine. Several companies sent in bids. American La France bid was accepted for $7,350. Now the department had two engines.
“In March 1937 several members of the department responded to New London, Texas when the school exploded. If you’re ever in that area you need to go to that museum. It’s worth your time,” Cochran said.
“In March 1938 the city approved plans for a new city hall with a new fire station with two bays. The fire department wanted three bays but the city said two would be enough for many years to come. Today, we have four stations and approximately 20 bays. On May 16, 1939 the city hall and fire station was completed. The two-bay station included a restroom, showers and storage space.
“On May 19, 1944 Fernie Louis Davis, an eight-year member and two-year fire department lieutenant, was serving in the 4th Air Force died in a crash in Arizona. His bomber group was training in preparation to go to the front lines in Europe. He was an American hero. I talked to his son on our 100th anniversary,” Cochran said.
“On Oct. 3, 1944 the city purchased a used fire truck chassis to remount the bed and pump from the 1926 REO 500 GPM engine. On Nov. 7, 1944 the city purchased 10 protective coats.
“On April 16, 1947 following the Texas City explosion, Chief Elbert Elam, Dr. W.W. Flowers, Dr. John Corso, Nurse Haines and Nurse Holloway and a Pace Funeral Home ambulance responded to the all available help request.
“On May 6, 1947 the city, county and fire department working together purchased a 500 GPM central fire apparatus at a cost of $7,490. The city paid $3,699.35, the county paid $3000 and the fire department paid $790.65.
“On Sept. 1, 1949 another tragedy occurred. A city electric employee and three-year member of the fire department, was working on a downed power line on the corner of Church and Pine when he came into contact with a live wire and lost his life. He was a valued city employee, as well as fire department member,” Cochran said.
“In December 1957 the fire department recommended a new engine as the 1936 ALF was becoming a mechanical problem. The city manager bought a new Ford chassis to remount the old ALF at McDonald Machine Shop. Mr. McDonald told the city manager this was not a good idea but the city manager would not listen. HP, RPM and torque did not match. Also, due to fire body construction, the body could not be removed to mount. So the city manager had the two chassis cut in half and the old ALF rear-welded to the Ford. It was a disaster, going from 500 GPM to less than 300 GPM.
“On July 10, 1961 the fire department made a loan arrangement with banks to use fire department funds, along with hopefully city funds, to purchase a new ALF engine for approximately $15,000. When presented to Council, the city manager came unhinged because the fire department had not consulted him. They had on several occasions, but had been stonewalled.
“The city manager went and bought a new Dodge chassis, took it to McDonalds and Mr. McDonald told him it was not a good idea. Nothing matched up. The chassis and remount cost was $4,567.19. The truck had to be sent to San Antonio to a truck shop to get all the parts matched at a cost of $3,500. The total cost was approximately $8,100 and a brand new one would have cost $15,000.
“In December 1962 B.R. Haynes was elected chief and that’s when it all started to change. Training was first and foremost.
“In March 1964 with the city denying requests for radios for some 10 years with just a bunch of weak excuses, Chief Haynes worked a plan to buy 29 CB radios. The city refused to let anyone dispatch during business hours so Ms. Ola Bergman volunteered to do dispatching from home.
“We didn’t have protective equipment. For years the department had asked for bunker gear, only to be denied with comments such as, ‘They don’t have time to put that stuff on.’ We were denied air packs. They said, ‘They just use those in big cities like New York.’ Finally, after some nearly 20 years of denial, B.R. was able to purchase 15 sets of protective equipment at approximately $60 a set.
“After three city managers that were negative to the fire department, B.R. dealt with the previous two and the new city manager, with encouragement from Mayor Willis, agreed to purchase a new engine. On Feb. 13, 1965 a new 1000 GPM Mack engine was approved. The fire department now had something dependable. Our first new truck still sits in Station 1. It’s in pristine condition and I hope we have it forever,” Cochran said.
“B.R. was big on training. In 1966 with a donated acre at 1400 Beatty the fire department built the first training facility anywhere in East Texas. It had a burn house, an oil spill pit and an LPG project. B.R. was light years ahead of the fire department. Later we got the site near Long King Creek where our training facility is now. See what country folks can do when they put their hearts and minds to it. All thanks to B.R.
“In 1970 with the coming of Lake Livingston, B.R. established a dive team under the leadership of Captain W.A. Cook. He always had a group of eight or 10 he could depend on. We averaged about 31 or 32 recoveries each year the first four or five years of Lake Livingston. Today the game wardens handle most of those type calls.
“On Dec. 21, 1970 Tom Nevinger became city manager and he was the first real fire department-friendly city manager in 25 years. On August 9, 1977 B.R. announced his retirement. He was truly the father of Livingston Volunteer Fire Department, no doubt. On Nov. 30, 1977 Carl Taylor became the interim fire chief. Then in December 1977 they had to start putting up with me” Cochran said.
“In October 1980 a local businessman went into Boothe’s Restaurant and Chuck Hinton and Greg Rasberry went into action when Buster Helton went into cardiac arrest. Those two guys did what they were trained to do and saved his life.
“In December 1983 the fire department responded to a major Continental Trailways bus accident on 59 at Milton Creek resulting in six deaths and six injuries. It was probably one of the worst incidents we ever responded to. It took about four hours to get everyone off of that bus that went down into Milton Creek.
“The fire department responded to a house fire on FM 2665 on January 26, 1996, the saddest day in the history of the Livingston Volunteer Fire Department. Fire Fighter Lynn Burkhalter died in an automobile accident leaving that house fire call. It’s our only line of duty death we’ve ever had,” Cochran said.
Assistant Chief John Haynes also provided some history.
“When he had a fire, whoever got there (the station) first wrote the details on the chalkboard. Some of the wives dispatched. It was kind of contentious with the city at that time. I joined the department in 1982 and ever since I’ve been on the department we’ve had a great relationship with the city and the council, thanks to Chief Cochran.
“We’re big on training. We have the fire field where we run a school every year with 300-400 people attending, except for floods and the pandemic. Probably over 15,000 people have gone through that school. All the Livingston firemen are instructors at one point or another. It’s been a really good thing for Livingston Fire Department and other area fire departments. We train every Tuesday night and have some kind of business meeting once a month,” Haynes said.
“Chief talked about the evolution of the quality of the equipment. Right now, to outfit a fireman in Livingston with hazmat gear, wildfire gear, handheld radio, vehicle radio and air pack runs about $13,000 per fire fighter.
“When the alarm goes off, those closest go get the truck. Communication makes a big difference on our response times. One truck rolls as soon as somebody gets there,” Haynes said.
Cochran said the fire department still has its original telephone number – 327-4441 – although everyone calls 911 now.
“If 911 gets a call and doesn’t know what to do with it, they send it to us. We’ve had some doozies. Every time we think we’ve seen it all or heard it all, something else will come up,” Cochran said.
“In 1962 there was a fatal house fire. B.R. had just become fire chief. That night, the fire department decided to take control of the fire department from the city. If it weren’t for the city we have now, we couldn’t make it. They take care of our gas, insurance. Their part is greatly appreciated. Most of the rolling stock we purchase. They’re happy with it and we are too,” Cochran said.
“Back to the story I saved for the end. Following the fire in 1902, Livingston began heading for full recovery, but on Dec. 8, vandals struck again by rolling a burning barrel filled with straw and tar underneath a building to set it on fire. Several young men were in town that evening and heard the pistol shots fired to alert the citizens of a fire.
“Twenty-five year-old Mac Zimmerman crawled under the store and rolled barrel out in the street to avoid burning the building. He probably saved the town from burning down that night
Shots rang out and Zimmerman collapsed to the ground with a bullet wound to the head. He died three days later. The citizens of that time, and even us today, owe a debt of gratitude to that young man. To honor that hero, we honored him as the first honorary member of the Livingston Volunteer Fire Department on Aug. 23, 2015. The courage that he showed is the courage that you expect.
“Even though there was no fire department at that time, his actions represented what we all stand for. The fire service brotherhood – there’s nothing like it. We want to leave together and come home together,” Cochran said.
