Fire

On February 2, 1943, the Bangor Township Volunteer Fire Association was established, and Paul Glocksine was appointed Chief of Bangor Township Volunteer Fire Association. The Township then proceeded to enlist volunteers to be furnished to the Chief of the Association to call as the need for assistance demanded, and at the next meeting in March of 1943 a proposal was prepared to present to the electors at the next annual meeting to allow up to $1,500 for fire protection for the year in Bangor. The proposal passed at the Annual Meeting of Electors.

On August 14, 1944, an election has held for the purpose of appropriating $3,000 for fire protection in the Township. On August 15, 1944, the contract was signed with Paul Glocksine for the sum of $3,000 annually for fire protection. With this amount, Mr. Glocksine had also to pay the volunteers, if necessary. The contract lasted three years. On February 25, 1947, Mr. Glocksine gave notice of intent to terminate his contract for fire protection as of August 15, 1947.
On March 6, 1947, the Township Board decided to put the question of fire protection on the ballot, in the form of a request to raise $18,000 for this service. The question was approved by the voters.

On May 1, 1947, the Township Board met to open bids for the purchase of fire equipment. Bids received were as follows:
On May 5, the Board agreed to accept the fire equipment, with no chassis, offered by Mr. Glocksine in the amount of $6,715.47. This included an agreement for continuance of his current contract for fire protection until the equipment was accepted. Bay Truck Sales was awarded the contract for a GMC chassis at $1,795.16.

On May 15, 1947, the Board interviewed applicants for housing of the fire truck, and Mr. William Casey was contracted for the operation of fire equipment in the Township in the amount of $4,000 per year, contingent on the fact that he be able to provide a suitable building by August 15th; and furnishing gas, oil, anti-freeze, heat, water, telephone, and 24 hour service. The Township’s single fire truck was housed in a building at the corner of Kawkawlin River Dr. and State Park Dr. Other bidders were Mr. Joseph Kosis, Mr. Harvey Wieland, Mr. George Sherman, and Mr. Gilbert Dobson.

March 9, 1948 was the first payroll for the volunteer firemen. Apparently, this was the first time they were paid. Until this date they must have been strictly volunteer. The rate of pay on this payroll was $2.00 for the first hour and $1.00 additional for each hour after.

The list of firemen receiving pay included the following names:

Clarence Rushow; Larry Matt; Richard Casey; Larry Butterfield; Ted Callendar; Alfred Davis; James Dobson; Ted Lanker; Russell Callendar; Charles Rushow; George Sherman; William Schindler; Ed Tack; George Schindler; Bud Graveline; Ted Callendar, Jr.; Harvey Butterfield; and Larry Norgan.

Carl Schaefer succeeded William Casey as Fire Chief in 1953.

In 1956 Bangor erected Fire Station One at 3921 Wheeler Rd. (now known as Station 7). On September 22, 1956, Chief Ted Callendar opened the new Fire Station, which would house two engines and an emergency car within a year.

With concern from residents in the southern portion of the Township about fire response, the Township purchased a former plumbing shop on North Union and added on to the building for a second fire station at a cost of $35,000. The station began operating in the fall of 1963 and was officially dedicated on May 23, 1964. The new Fire Station Two (now Fire Station 6) housed one engine, a Jeep grass truck, and a service car.

In 1964 the annual fire department budget totaled $37,000. There were four full-time men on duty, seven paid volunteers for daytime fires and seven on night calls. An additional 12 men were on the roster of extra volunteers. During this time the Department averaged between 185 – 200 calls per year.

Since that time the department has grown to have an annual budget of approximately 1.2 million dollars and employs 14 full-time members and 16 reserve members. There are 3 or 4 full-time members on duty each day between the two fire stations to answer calls. Reserve firefighters are paged out for all fire calls to supplement the full-time duty crew. Today the department averages about 2,500 calls per year, a dramatic increase from 1964.