Prior to the
charter of the Tryon Fire Department townspeople would volunteer their
manpower in the whenever fire broke out in town. In 1910 donations by
businesses and individuals were given to purchase 3 hose reels . One was
placed on Melrose Avenue, one on Godshaw Hill and the third in mill town. A
ladder wagon was purchased in 1911, which was pulled by manpower or horses,
whichever was available. The first fire truck was purchased in 1913. The
second fire truck was a Ford purchased in 1923. The third truck purchased
was by "Graham Brothers" in 1925. There were efforts to start a fire
department as early as 1917. The last page of papers compiled by Clarence
Scoggins, to our knowledge, is the original meeting with Town of Tryon
Officials electing Tryon Fire Department Officers April 22, 1920.
The Department
was officially chartered in 1922 and consisted of the following members:
Mr. Hill - Fire
Chief W.A. Wilson - Assistant Chief
Jim Early
Charles Ford
Terril Green
Jim Berry
Tom Huntsinger
Julian Hester
Claude Ballenger G.L.
Foster
M.G. Blake
Oliver Andrews
The
first department was located on Maple St., near the present Town Public
Works shed. The bell, which now resides in front of the current station, was
obtained in 1911. The telephone company was located very near where
Windstream is now. There was a cable attached to the bell and it was strung
in the
air to the nearby telephone office. When a call came in, the
telephone operator pulled the cable to ring the bell so as to alert the
firemen.
Click above for a story on early
TFD times
In 1937 a Mack
fire truck was purchased. This was the first new fire truck in all of Polk
County. It arrived by rail and was unloaded at the depot on Pacolet Street.
In 1948 the
department purchased a new open cab Ford chassis, as well as a front mount
pump, which they mounted and plumbed themselves. A 300 gallon tank was
added to the rear.
In 1954, the
local telephone company arranged for 10 fire phones to be installed in the
businesses where the firemen worked for notification of a fire. In early
evening these 10 phones were switched to 10 firemen residences for
notification at night. The wives of the firemen that had a phone would call
the other firemen for notification of the fire and location. When a fire
call came over the telephone, it would ring continuous or a single long ring
until the phone was picked up. This was how you knew it was a fire call.
These phones were used until 1979 when the department received pagers. The
department now uses pagers and portable radios.
The Tryon Fire
Department protects the area of the Town of Tryon, Tryon Township and a
portion of Foothills Fire District located in Greenville County, S.C. The
resident freeholders or property owners voted in 1985 to
form the Tryon
Township Fire Tax District. Tryon and Greenville County, S.C. entered into a
fire protection contract in 1992. Tryon also provides mutual aid in
Spartanburg County S.C. through a mutual aid agreement
with Landrum Fire
Department. In addition to these agencies, Tryon also maintains mutual aid
agreements with the other fire departments in Polk County – Columbus,
Saluda, Green Creek, Mill Spring, and Sunny View.
Today the department’s fleet has grown from the early years. The station,
now located behind Town Hall at 56 West Howard Street houses 3 engines, 1
tanker, 1 service truck, and 1 brush truck. In addition to
fire protection
the Tryon Fire Department provides first responder service in conjunction
with Polk County Emergency Services.
In 1979 Tryon Fire Department's Insurance Service Office (ISO) rating
improved from a 7/9 to a 6/9. In 1994, the department improved its rating
from a 6/9 to a 5/9s.
