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THE HISTORY OF THE
BARSTOW FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT
Prior to the year 1926,
there were four devastating fires that literally destroyed the
town, which was centered between the AT&SF Railroad tracks,
Northeast of Cottage Street.
Prior to the formation of the District,
water was supplied through water mains that terminated at the
tracks. Water was pumped from steam locomotives through the
mains into carts that were strategically placed throughout the
town. When a fire occurred, citizens would come running to man
the fire hoses, Dispatchers from Sante Fe Railroad would
dispatch a locomotive to pressurize the water mains.
In the years after World War I, the town of
Barstow began to take on a life separate from the river and the
railroad that gave it birth. Many buildings had moved out of the
river bottom, the location of the old railroad town, and up to
the "Heights," the nickname then for property along Main Street.
Seeing the need to bring an organized fire
department into the community, several leaders petitioned the
San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors to form an
independent special fire protection district. Fire district
status meant that Barstow residents could get fire insurance for
their new buildings along the new Main Street. Dr. A.C. Pratt,
R. M. Dillingham and E. L. "Gene" White signed the first
petition to the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors to
create the district. On May 24, 1926 the San Bernardino County
Board of Supervisors authorized the formation of the Barstow
Fire Protection District, and Dr. A.C. Pratt, R. M. Dillingham
and E. L. "Gene" White were the first district commissioners. E.
L. "Gene" White was the first fire chief.
The District included approximately four square miles and had no
equipment for fire fighting. The population was barely 1000. The
total assessed tax valuation was less than one million dollars.
In September 1926, through a tax initiative by the tax payers,
the District acquired its first fire engine, a 1922 Model T
Ford. "The new chemical engine made its first emergency call and
made a good showing," the Printer (a local newspaper) reported
on Nov. 4, 1926. After that, it was possible to buy fire
insurance in Barstow. The first fire described in the next issue
on Nov. 11 was actually the second call for the new engine. "The
blaze proved to be only a trash fire, with an old auto tire
furnishing most of the smoke," the Printer said.
In January of 1936, the District continued to expand and the
first fire station was incorporated
within the town meeting hall, to be located
at 209 North First Avenue. The Town Hall / Station was
dedicated on September 23, 1939.Volunteers were called to
emergencies by sirens that were placed throughout the community.
Personnel would respond to their station for that assignment.
The first person to arrive at the station would than call the
alarm center, (located in someone’s house) to get the assignment
and write it on a chalk board. In the latter part of 1939 the
Barstow Fireman's Service Club was organized. This organization
helped with youth events, community projects, and helped the
Fire District by holding fundraisers and helping to acquire
equipment like the first resuscitator, protective pants,
jackets, and helmets.
In 1940 Chief E.L. White resigned and Russell Riley was
appointed as the interim Fire Chief. In July 1940, O.C. Gilson
was appointed as the Fire Chief. In 1941 the 1922
Cheverolet fire engine was sold to Indian Springs, Nevada
and a new 500 gallon per minute Ford/Seagrave pumper was
purchased (the Seagrave is currently owned by Hinkley Fire
Department). Upon the resignation of O.C. Gilson, A. Howard
Pendleton was appointed Fire Chief. He served as Fire Chief
until January of 1957. Chief Pendleton had the monsterous job of
replacing those firemen who left to fight during World War II.
He trained the firemen's wives to fight fire and perform first
aid. Through a petition of the school board he was allowed to
recruit ten boys for a fire auxiliary. Young men from Barstow
High School (located at its present location) were tutored by
Captain E.R. "Ed" Amende. That auxiliary force included: Alfred
B. Willis, Bill Robins, Louis Winningham, Maurice Howland, James
Howland, Willis Pinkerton, William "Sonny" Wright Robert Miller,
Robert Rowe, and Robert Newbrough. The boys would leave classes
and respond to emergencies when the sirens sounded. They would
respond to the First Street Fire Station. After the emergency
concluded, they would return to school.
The District expanded in the early 1950’s, In 1952 we purchased
a new Seagrave, 1,000 gallon per minute fire engine. Two
stations were built
 
and
equipped with apparatus. One was located on Nancy and "G"
Streets and the other on Paris, just off of West Main Street in
Lenwood. An additional station was built behind a house on the
Northeast corner of Bigger Street and Adele Drive. After 14
years as the Fire Chief and 30 years on the Department, A.H.
Howard Pendleton retired.
Arthur Mitchell along with his duties as
Building Inspector assumed the duties as interim Fire Chief. An
election was held for two seats on the Fire Board. Alfred B.
Willis and E.R. Amende were elected to serve with Leonard
Zagortz, their first order of business was to find a chief and
they decided to employee a full time Fire Chief / Administrator.
Chief
 Willis
Pinkerton was selected as the first paid fire chief, and was
paid $500 a month. With his appointment on July 1, 1957, the
District changed from an all volunteer district to a combination
of volunteer and career personnel. Also in 1957, Rex Dillingham
was hired for fire hydrant maintenance. Eventually Mr.
Dillingham became the Fire Marshal and Battalion Chief in charge
of the Fire Prevention Bureau. Pinkerton characterized the
department during his early years of volunteer staffing. "We
were all pretty much a group. We went to school together, went
into the service together. We hung around together, respected
each other. The camaraderie thing held us all together," he
said. During the next 22 years he presided over the switch from
an all-volunteer department to a department half-staffed by
volunteers and half-staffed by about 20 career firemen. "Melding
the two groups together; that worked out well," he said.
In 1963
the department acquired three new pumpers in one purchase. They
spread the cost over three years and paid for them with property
taxes.
In the 1970’s Willis Pinkerton was still the fire chief when the
District added paramedics to its service. In 1975 a grant from
Johnson and Johnson allowed the District to acquire basic
equipment and train two paramedics. The present fire station at
the top of Barstow Road was completed in 1979, Pinkerton's final
year as chief. After retirement, Pinkerton went on to hold a
state office as the president of the California Fire Chiefs
Association.
In 1979, Dave Matthews inherited from
Pinkerton a professional department, including a paramedic
service that was still in its infancy, with no way to predict
how it would grow. The inheritance included the unforeseen
Proposition 13, a statutory limit on property taxes. The
California state law was voted into being two years earlier but
was just beginning to have an effect on the district budget.
Combined with the budget limitations imposed by the Barstow
Redevelopment Agency, "it cut our budget by two-thirds. They
really haven't come up with a solution yet," Matthews said.
The biggest challenge of Matthews' tenure was to fund a growing
department with a static revenue source, frozen in place by Prop
13. "We developed a close working relationship with the county,
(and) got a lot of funding there," he said.
One way Matthews found to save money was by eliminating three
full-time radio dispatchers. It was in the 1980s that the
dispatch center in Victorville was first contracted to handle
Fire District dispatching, saving $100,000 a year, Matthews
said. Matthews retired in 1991. Continuing his dedication to the
fire service, he headed up the Fire Technology program at Victor
Valley College in Victorville, training most of the young
firefighters and upcoming officers for all the departments in
the high desert.
The
District began leasing a fire station at First and Old Highway
58 in the 1980’s, as a volunteer station. The station and
property was purchased by the District later in 1997.
Dale Milligan took over as Fire Chief in
1991. Chief Milligan faced the same challenges with growing
costs and static revenues. Chief Milligan saw the need to expand
our service the community. He implemented a second paramedic
unit by utilizing personnel from the crew at the
 headquarters
station, dividing the manpower to staff a second engine from
8:00 AM through 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday. Later the need
increased and availability of volunteers decreased. The crews
were permanently divided. Two paramedic engines were used to
provide service twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The
effort resulted with the planning and construction of a new fire
station located at 2600 West Main Street to house the newly
established crew. Chief Milligan retired in 1999.
In 1999
the Board of Directors brought in Eddie Varela, from
Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the new fire chief. Chief Varela
served as the chief from 1999 through 2004.
In 2004
the District appointed Darrell Jauss to the position of Fire
Chief. Starting in 1986 as a volunteer firefighter, becoming a
career firefighter/ paramedic in 1987, Jauss continued to serve
the District and held the positions of engineer, captain,
administrative captain, and division chief prior to the
appointment as chief.
Today the District serves approximately
30,000 people within an area of about 60 square miles. The City
of Barstow is still in the heart of the district but we also
protect the communities of Barstow Heights, Lenwood, Grandview,
Skyline North, Skyline East, Irwin Estates, and the Soapmine
area.
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