Here are the names of the members who served their country’s armed services prior to serving their community. Sorry but the last names starting with S for some reason got dropped.
Bill Simpson/ Army
Ken Skoglund/ Navy
Bob Starman/ Navy
Arron Stienback/ Marines
Al Stevens/ Navy
Bill Sullivan? Navy
Jack Sullivan/ Army
On this Veterans day we want to recognize those who served twice. Served our country in the armed forces and returned to serve our community as first responders, Fire, law Enforcement, Medical and Dispatchers.
Andy Anderson/ Army
Tony Abbott/ Army
Gene Barrett/ Army
Nathaniel Richardson/ Navy
John Bergquist/ Navy
Roger Bell/ Army
Gary Bollig/ Army
Delmer Bonser/ Army
Jim Buchanan/ Air Force
Cory Buderus/ Army
Lee Burke/Marines
Tony Curtis/ Navy
Rick Davis/ Marines
Dave Dodson/ Air Force
Paul Duran/ Marines
Jason Gilbertson/ Army National Guard
Scott Gulbrandson/ Navy
Keith Gregg/ Navy
Jake Hidy/ Air Force
Robert Jackson/ Air Force
Dave Jiles/ Navy
Lyle Johnston/ Army
Russ Klassen/ Navy
Alex/ Klinger/ Air Force
Vincent Knickelbien/ Navy
Mick Leighton/ Navy
Fran Lyons/ Air Force
Mark Lyons/ Navy
Larry Maybon/ Army
Rex Mannon/ Army
Mike McKenna/ Navy
Pat Maily/ Navy
Shawn Neal/ Air Force
Scott Pringle/ Air Force
Uriel Sanchez/ Army
Mike Warner/ Navy
Greg Ward/ Air Force
Craig Willard/ Air Force
Mark Wilson/ Army
Dave Vines/ Coast Guard
Bill Vick/ Army
Andrew Mock/ Army
Mathew Salazar/ Army/ Marines
Cody Arroll/ Army/ Marines
The beginning of 1960 saw the last of Loveland’s sleepy small town past slip away and the beginning of a growth pattern that continues to this day. The same can be said for the Fire Department. In 1960 the population of the city was 9734, and by 1970 it would see a increase in population of 5.24% reaching 16,220. Like the city itself, the fire department was growing and expanding.
In 1965 the city broke ground on a much needed replacement of a new fire station. The Fire Station on 5th street between Cleveland and Lincoln streets was in sad shape and filled to overcapacity with equipment. The new station located a couple blocks to the East at 410 E 5th St. was completed in January of 1966. This was a huge improvement for them with larger apparatus parking, better meeting and office spaces along with greatly improved living quarters for the paid staff.
Along with improved facilities, the departments apparatus fleet was improved in order to replace older equipment and improve operational capabilities.
In 1965 the department purchased from Greeley Fire Department a 1956 Dodge Squad Truck. This replaced the 1939 Ford Rescue (the Ford would be used as the new Dive Rescue Unit). This gave them the ability to transport additional equipment and ground ladders to the scene.
In 1968 and again in 1969 the department purchased a new Mack Pumper. These units marked the beginning of the standard for coming years. These Engines used Turbo charged Diesel motors, the first of this type used by the department. They also had 1000 gpm or better pump capacity and 1000 gallon water tanks. They would be a huge improvement in firefighting capability for the department and the city.
Also in 1968 the department purchased from the Super Vac Company located here in Loveland, a 1500 gallon Tanker. This improved water delivery in area’s not served by hydrants or other static water source.
During the decade the Department began equipping and training its own Dive Rescue Team. This group was the brainchild of Al Stevens, who would go on to become Loveland’s first Fire Marshall in 1974. Initial funding for the team was through donations, fund raisers, and even diving for golf balls in the water hazards at the Old Golf course on 29th St. In 1969 they produced and distributed a safety film called “Water Trap”. This addressed the dangers of the many irrigations ditches in the area.
The decade saw larger incidents that would become more frequent and fire loss growing due to them.
June 21, 1962 the Vought Trailer Plant (Also known as the ABC Factory) 8th and Van Buren. The fire occurred at a time when the department was short of personnel due to the fact many of the firefighters were out of town attending the State Fire Convention and Fire School. Mutual Aid was brought in from Berthoud, Fort Collins and Greeley. Fire Loss at over 1 Million Dollars.
October 24, 1963. Kuner-Empson Warehouse Fire. 1st and Railroad Ave. At midnight a fire was reported at the warehouse housing appliances for a local store and a transportation company’s equipment and records. Fire loss at over 1 Million Dollars.
June 14, 1965, Tornado at Highway 34 and Glade rd. The tornado was estimated to be 100 yards wide with winds of 150 mph causing 16 injuries but no fatalities. This would be the first of the natural disasters to hit this area over the next few decades.
The 1960’s proved to be a evolving period for the department. It would be the beginning of a new era with rapid growth of the cities population and size, along with a increased call load. They met the challenge in their traditional way of being progressive, creative, dedicated to the citizens of the City of Loveland.
Loveland Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1
Welcome to the new Loveland Fire Exhibit Inc. Web Site! Here we will bring you a Virtual Museum concerning the Loveland Fire Department and its history. Here you will be able to view our many Artifacts from our past, past and present Apparatus, and Stations. You will also have a searchable database for looking up past articles from our Facebook page, past and present Personnel and Bio’s of some of the past members. You will also have access to our Photo Gallery and Videos as we add them.
Please come back as often as you wish, as we are continually adding to this site!
Lovelandfireexhibitinc@gmail.com
I have been working on this page to document the history of the Loveland Fire Department for a couple of years now. This has been a fascinating and rewarding endeavor. My first exposure with the organization began in 1962 when I was only 2 years old at the time and my father, Duane Stauffer, joined the department. He served over 28 years with Loveland and eventually retired from the Kodak Fire department. So I had the opportunity to have grown up around and heard the history from many of the men and women that had served from that time and before. So discovering new bits of information from that time is very much like rediscovering a piece of my own family.
The Loveland Fire Exhibit Inc. was formed to relay the departments past and preserve it for the future generations. I’m very happy to let everyone know that sometime in the spring there will be an updated display in the Museum. We are constantly looking for any information in relation to the departments history. Sadly many of the past members of the department have since passed on, and the treasure trove of their memories has been lost. I would like to ask anyone that follows this page to give me a shout it you come across anything from the past with the Fire Department. Any old newspaper clippings, pictures and the holy grail of old equipment you might come across in the papers of a past member, please contact me if you are willing to share or allow me to make copies of.
A great example of this is the picture of our old 1935 Diamond T engine. Chief Ward had someone send him a picture of it, possibly taken up the Big Thompson Canyon, around 1976. On of the best color pictures I have of this engine.
While digging through some old newspaper articles in the bottom of a box of old family pictures, I came across a picture of the first motorized apparatus bought for the city in 1909. I had only seen a factory picture of this engine prior to that.
So you go through you past family members stuff before you toss it out, please look at it and see if there is one of those priceless tidbits of history you would consider sharing.
Thank you all for following this year and look forward to bringing you more history of the Loveland Fire Department next year.
Lynn Stauffer
LynnStauffer1960@gmail.com
We are pleased to announce that the Loveland Museum will be opening a fresh new exhibit about the Loveland Fire Department with a target date in the spring of next year. We wand to thank the museum staff for making the space open to us for this. The new exhibit will showcase the time period from around 1890 through 1920. This will encompass the development of the department from the Bucket Brigade days and the hand pulled hose carts thru changing over to motorized apparatus. You will walk through a representation of the front of the old hose house built in 1890 and will be able to see artifacts from the time period. We are very excited to be able to have this opportunity.
Other news from Loveland Fire Museum Inc. is that the Repairs on our 1925 LaFrance pumper are complete! It was a long road to get it back in pristine shape and we want to thank all those who helped make this possible. You can see it on November 11 in the Veterans Day parade. This was the first Fire apparatus purchased by the department that had a pump, greatly improving the capabilities of the department. It is housed downtown at Fire Station 1.
Other projects in the works are the restoration of Loveland’s first Ladder truck. It was hand build by the department in the early 1950’s. It was a time when buildings were getting taller around the community, and not having the funding to purchase a truck they build one. This was headed up by Harry Chasteen and finished by the members at the time. It was sold in the 70’s after being replaced by a new Sutphen Aerial Platform. Chief Ward of the Loveland Fire and Rescue Authority located it in a salvage yard in the Denver area and brought it back to us. it is in the process of being put back into running shape for future and we look forward to showing it off as a example of our past.
Loveland Fire Museum Inc, is working on being able to bring the past of the fire department here in Loveland back so the citizens have a better understanding of how we became the organization that serves it today. We are always looking for any items from the past concerning the department. I am asking for your help. If anyone comes across any pictures or artifacts from the fire department that they would be willing to share please contact us. There are many families that had a past relative that served in the department and we would be grateful if you stumble across anything that we may be able to view it and document it.
You can contact me about any thing you might find at LynnStauffer1960@gmail.com. We are trying to capture this history before it is lost to time forever.
Thank You: Lynn Stauffer
Loveland Fire Exhibit Inc. 