Reedsville Fire Department
In May of 1894, the Village Board of Reedsville ordered six fire extinguishers and directed the fire committee to procure hooks, ladders, and a truck for a hook and ladder company. Rusch, Reedsville had its first volunteer fire department. By November of 1894, the department was equipped with a hand engine, a hook and ladder wagon, a hose cart, and $364.00 worth of fir
e hose. In April of 1895, C. Hagenow was appointed chief. When the Village Board accepted the resignation of the entire department on September 2, 1896, Herman Boettcher was chief. Twelve days later the men were reappointed and an annual salary of $5.00 each was approved. The official designation was changed from “Committee on Fire and Water” to Fire Department. In the early days, the firemen were summoned to an emergency by a fire bell on the old village hall located on Manitowoc Street. The bell ringer had to be an individual with enough practice to bring out the full tone of the bell. They pulled their equipment by hand or borrowed any available horses for longer runs. In 1927, the department acquired its first motor-driven truck, a REO Speed Wagon. Chief Herman Boettcher and the 11 other firemen were much more effective with this unit. They were able to reach the fire scene much faster and their energy was conserved for firefighting. In 1935, the bell was replaced by an electric siren. This allowed anyone to sound the fire alarm rather than the bell ringer. In 1951, an International Harvester pumper was purchased and then in 1953, a Chevrolet water truck was added to the fleet. In 1973, they took delivery of their first yellow truck, a 1,000 GPM pumper. From then on, all future trucks were to be yellow. The 1927 REO was refurbished. It’s still fully operational and used for parades. The hand pumper, hook and ladder wagon and hose cart are also used for parades. The 1951 and 1953 trucks are in storage. All the antique equipment is on display at the Reedsville Fire Department Museum. In February 1956, 50,000 gallons of water in the Reedsville water tower (west tower no longer in use) froze and the REO pumper was used to thaw it. It pumped continuously for 3 days until the tower was free of ice. In 1974, a much-welcomed improvement came with the purchase of personal radio monitors. Each fireman was able to receive alarms, messages, and directions at his home. In 1980, these were replaced with mobile pagers worn on the belt. Notable fires in Reedsville Fire Department history include: Reedsville Pea Canning Company, assisting Brillion FD battle a fire that engulfed much of that city, Reedsville Legion Dance Hall, Miller Implement, Manitowoc County Highway Shop in Reedsville, Kabat’s County Gardens, Reedsville High School and Reedsville Co-op Feed Mill. The Fire Department was housed at the old village hall on Manitowoc Street until 1965 when it moved to the new and current village hall on Menasha Street. In July of 1990, the department moved to its current location on Industrial Drive – a 6-bay firehouse complete with a meeting room and space for expansion. At present, the department has 5 vehicles answering calls:
• Engine 175, a 2013 Rosenbauer 8-man cab, 1750 GPM pump, 1,000-gallon water tank, rescue equipment
• Engine 171, a 2000 Pierce Saber 6-man cab, 1250 GMP pump, 1,000-gallon water tank, rescue equipment
• Tender 172, a 2004 Custom Fab and Body, Kenworth chassis, 3,500-gallon water tank, 2 drop tanks
• Utility 174, a 2017 Ford F-250, used to assist EMS and transport equipment after calls and as a department vehicle for schooling and meetings, also carries most of our ice/water rescue equipment and pulls the trailer with our utv
• Utility 173, a 2020 Club car 1700 4x4 with off-road tracks 4 passenger carries an 80-gallon tank with pump for grass fires and stokes basket bracket for off road rescue
Since 1973, the firemen have been actively involved in Fire Prevention programs at area schools. Assistant Chief Willard Behnke and his wife Carol (a teacher at Reedsville Elementary School) started the program which coordinated with National Fire Prevention Week in October. Reedsville Fire Department still provides this very effective program thanks to the efforts of multiple firefighters. The Reedsville Fire Fighters currently organize several events to raise funds for Reedsville Firemen’s Park upkeep and to assist in furnishing firefighting equipment. In April, the Firefighters host a gun raffle and brat fry at the fire station. During the last full weekend in June, they host a 3-day picnic and parade. This is one of the few 3-day firefighter events left in the area. Many of the current Reedsville Firefighters are RIT trained. RIT stands for Rapid Intervention Team and they are present on active fire scenes to rescue downed firefighters if needed. The Reedsville RIT team serves fire departments in Manitowoc, Calumet and Brown counites. All members of the fire department are CPR and AED trained. As of March of 2022, 27 of our 29 current members are ice/water rescue certified. 12 of our 29 members are Wisconsin state certified firefighter 1 or higher, even with adding 6 new members in 2022 who will be enrolling in schooling by years end. Reedsville Fire Department salutes all past and present firemen who devoted their time and skills to the department. Special thanks to these fire chiefs who provided leadership from the founding in 1894 to the present: A.H. Hagenow, Herman Boettcher, Rueben Rusch, C. Kugle, Art Boettcher, Ig Kabat, Harland Prochnow, Donald Svacina, James Dietrich, William Schuh, Mike Pautz, Brad Busse. Currently Chief Jason Schuh is assisted by Assistant Chief Wade Kasper, Assistant Chief Jason Maertz and Captains Jeff Christel, Mike O’Connell, Mike Kocourek, Steve Miller and 22 firefighters.
