TRYON FIRE DEPARTMENT 90TH
ANNIVERSARY PROCLAMATION
WHEREAS, Tryon
City was chartered as an incorporated municipality on March 11,
1885 by the North Carolina General Assembly and renamed Town of
Tryon by amendment of that charter in 1920; and
WHEREAS,
from Tryon’s earliest history,
residents and neighbors joined together voluntarily to help each
other in times of fire and emergency; and
WHEREAS, in 1910,
donations by Tryon businesses and individuals provided funds to
purchase three hose reels, placed at Melrose Avenue, Godshaw
Hill and in mill town to assist townspeople volunteers in
fighting fires that broke out in the Town; and
WHEREAS, in 1911,
the community purchased a ladder wagon that could be pulled by
horses or people as available and in 1913 the first fire truck
was purchased; and
WHEREAS,
volunteer fire fighters began organizing as early as 1917, were
recognized and had a Chief, an Assistant Chief and a
Secretary-Treasurer officially approved by the Town of Tryon
Town Commission on April 22, 1920; and
WHEREAS, on April
22, 1922, the Tryon Fire Department was officially recognized as
a charted fire department through the State of North Carolina
Insurance Department with ten volunteer firefighters led by Fire
Chief Hill and Assistant Chief W. A. Wilson; and
WHEREAS, the
first fire department building was located on Maple Street where
the fire bell, acquired in 1911 and now residing in front of the
current Tryon Fire Department building, had a cable attached
strung from the nearby telephone company office so that, when a
call came in, the telephone operator could alert the
firefighters at the station by pulling the cable to ring the
bell; and
WHEREAS, in 1923
a second fire truck, a Ford-American LaFrance, was purchased and
in 1925 a third fire truck on a Graham Brothers chassis was
purchased; and
WHEREAS, in late
1926 the Tryon Fire Department volunteers were reorganized and
operated from the Town Hall building complex on Maple Street
where the new trucks were housed with a large new electric siren
installed to give alarms in case of fire; and
WHEREAS, in 1937
a Mack fire truck was purchased and delivered by rail and
unloaded at the Tryon Depot on Pacolet Street and in 1948 the
Department purchased a new open cab Ford Chassis and equipped it
with a front mount pump and rear mount 300 gallon tank; and
WHEREAS, in 1954,
the local telephone company arranged for ten fire phones to be
installed in the businesses where the firemen worked for
notification of a fire and arranged to switch these lines to the
ten firemen’s residences for notification at night with a
special single long continuous ring designating a fire call,
these phones being used up until 1979 when the department
acquired pagers; and
WHEREAS, members
of the Tryon Fire Department have served as officers in the
Western North Carolina Association of Firefighters, Wayne
Creasman as President in 1954 and Joey Davis as Secretary from
2005 to 2009; and
WHEREAS, in 1979
the Tryon Fire Department improved the department’s Insurance
Service Office (ISO) rating from 6/9 to 5/9, retained that
rating through the present and is currently the only Polk County
fire department with a Class 5 rating; and
WHEREAS, the
Tryon Fire Department Ladies’ Auxiliary was recognized during
its existence as one of the top programs in the state; and
WHEREAS, Tryon
Fire Department has had 27 different fire chiefs over its 90
years, has had a strong history of multi-generational family
members serving with the Department and currently numbers among
its active members Assistant Chief Marshall Lipscomb, the first
African American to serve in Tryon Fire Department and the first
African American to serve as a chief fire officer in Polk
County, and Kimberley Pack the first female to serve as an
elected officer in the Tryon Fire Department; and
WHEREAS, the
Tryon Fire Department currently has a paid fire chief hired by
the Town who reports to the Town Manager and Town Council who
oversee the budget, and line officers, the Deputy Fire Chief,
Assistant Fire Chief, Captains and Lieutenants, elected by the
volunteer members, and
WHEREAS, current
Fire Chief Joey Davis has been awarded the designation of Chief
Fire Officer by the Commission on Professional Credentialing,
and is one of only 787 in the world to hold this recognition, in
addition to holding a Masters Degree in Public Administration;
and
WHEREAS, today
the Tryon Fire Department now resides at its station behind
Tryon Town Hall at 56 West Howard Street with a fleet of three
engines, one tanker, one service truck one brush truck, a
recently acquired all-terrain vehicle (ATV) and a command
vehicle and provides both fire protection and emergency medical
first responder services in conjunction with Polk County
Emergency Services; and
WHEREAS, the
Tryon Fire Department currently protects the area of the Town of
Tryon, Tryon Township and a portion of the Foothills Fire
District located in Greenville County, SC; and
WHEREAS, the
Tryon Fire Department has entered into mutual aid agreements
with Spartanburg County SC, Landrum Fire Department, Columbus
Fire Department, Saluda Fire Department, Green Creek Fire
Department, Mill Spring Fire Department, Sunny View Fire
Department and Polk County Emergency Medical Services; and
WHEREAS, the
Tryon Fire Department currently handles approximately one
thousand calls per year; and
WHEREAS,
April 22, 2012 marks the 90th anniversary of the
original Tryon Fire Department Charter;
AND NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
that, I, J. Alan Peoples, Mayor of the Town of Tryon, North
Carolina, do hereby proclaim the year from January 1,
2012 to December 30, 2012 to be the
Official 90th Anniversary Celebration for the Tryon
Fire Department
in order to increase public
awareness of the heroic service and continuing community
contributions the Tryon Fire Department offers to Tryon’s
citizens and all the residents of the Tryon Fire Department’s
service district and to encourage their active participation in
the yearlong celebration of Tryon Fire Department and its
history.
Adopted the 20th Day of December 2012.
____________________________
J. Alan Peoples,
Mayor of Tryon, North Carolina
In
Witness, Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
Seal of the Town of Tryon to be affixed at the Tryon Town Hall,
North Carolina this 20th Day of December 2011.
