Fulton Fire Department

It was in the year 1893 after the water system was completed, that Fulton, Kentucky organized its first Fire Department, with I.R Nolen as the first fire chief. The fire chief in those days was paid $5 per call and firefighters were paid $2 a call. Chester Murrell was the first salaried Fire Chief in Fulton.
From the beginning of 1893, with the hand drawn reel, to the turn of the century with the horse drawn reel, Fulton’s Fire Department did extremely well in combating fires with their adequate equipment. Back in those days the department mostly tried to save adjoining buildings rather than to save the burning building itself. It was a big day in Fulton when their first motorized fire apparatus from American La France in 1913 arrived at the price tag of $5,500. It was the only motorized apparatus between Memphis, TN and Cairo, IL at the time. Although some folks thought the price was extravagant, they soon began to see that it was the best kind of apparatus. In 1969 Fulton lost its first firefighter and to date only firefighter in the line of duty. Virgil Craven died at a fire scene due to injuries when a wall collapsed.

Under the leadership of Chief Billy Meacham in 1974 the Fire Department began operation of the ambulance service. The first EMT was hired Willie B. Hicks. In 1976 Kentucky Board of EMS issued the Certificate of Need for the City of Fulton Ambulance service.

In 1978 Chief Richard Hartz took the leadership of the Fire Department. During his years of service the EMS subscription service began in 1978 to fund the ambulance service. In 1978 the Fire Department responded to 75 fire calls and 753 ambulance calls. During this time the first “Jaws of Life” was purchased. In 1981 S.A.V.E. (Save the Ambulance Voluntary Enrollment) committee was formed by citizens to help raise funds for the Ambulance Service.

Chief Otto Mock took the Fire Chief’s position in 1985 and during his time the new Parkway Regional Hospital opened on Holiday Lane in 1985 moving from the previous location at the Old Fulton Hospital located on the corner of Carr and Commercial Streets. In 1986 Chief Otto Mock organized a HAZMAT response unit using an old ambulance to transport equipment and personnel. Funding from the city and the county provided very basic equipment for the unit. However two totally encapsulating butyl rubber entry suits were obtained from the US Coast Guard and were used on several occasions. The HAZMAT unit was abolished due to the high cost of equipment and a lack of funding. In 1987 the Seagraves Ladder Truck was placed in service, large diameter supply line was placed on all apparatus. The department got its first “Stinger” deluge gun in 1987 and it was mounted on the tail board of the truck due to not having enough money to mount it on the top of the truck. The membership in 1987 was 27 members of which 10 were full time. Jackson Purchase Firefighters spring school was conducted in Fulton in 1988. This was the first regional school hosted in Fulton since the 1950’s.
In 1988 notice received from Tennessee Department of EMS that the Fulton Ambulance Service employees would have to become Tennessee certified beginning in 1989 because of the number of patient pickups in the state of Tennessee. Later in 1989 Fulton Fire Department EMT’s (8 full time and 2 Volunteers) completed Tennessee EMT training as mandated by the State of Tennessee EMS Division. In the future all Fulton EMT’s would be required to maintain Tennessee EMT certification in addition to Kentucky EMT certifications.

In April of 1990 Kelly Edmison became Fire Chief after the resignation of Otto G. Mock. During the years of Chief Edmison the Fire Department had some manpower issues. The automatic mutual aid agreement was also accomplished during Chief Edmison’s tenure. Chief Edmison even had to be placed on 24 hour shift coverage due to a manpower shortage. The Kentucky Incident reporting system became operational in 1991. In 1992 membership was 28 with 10 full time. In 1993 the HAZMAT unit was downgraded from operations to awareness level. The major reason was inadequate funding. Fire Prevention inspections began in the fall of 1993. Doctor Alvin Hinders became medical director for the ambulance service in 1993.

In 1994 Shawn Bixler Became the Chief. During this time the first female firefighter covered a night shift at the station. In 1996 Fire Department Personnel in EMS unit 1192 met the presidential motorcade in Cairo, IL. The motor cade was carrying President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore. The crew joined the motorcade at the request of the US Secret Service and provided escort from Cairo to Paducah, Kentucky. President Bill Clinton and his motorcade arrived, from Paducah, Kentucky, for a brief stop in Fulton, Kentucky. One of the EMS units in the President’s motorcade was unable to continue due to maintenance issues. The US Secret Service requested an EMS unit from the Fulton Fire Department to replace this unit. The motorcade proceeded to Union City, Tennessee, stopped for lunch in Covington, Tennessee attended a rally in downtown Memphis, Tennessee and was dismissed when the President and his entourage boarded Air Force I and Air Force II at the Memphis International Airport. In 2001 the Cities of Fulton, Kentucky and South Fulton, Tennessee joined forces and incorporated The Twin City Ambulance Service as a joint venture between the two cities. The TCAS Board of Directors was incorporated. In November of 2004 Captain Buffy Kyle worked her first shift as a Captain with the Fulton Fire Department and Twin City Ambulance Service. Buffy is the first female Captain in this department. March 2003 a letter from Dr. Gerald Russell Medical Director of TCAS stating that he supported the TCAS operating as an ALS service when a paramedic was available until such time as twenty four hour coverage could be provided. In July 2004 Kentucky Board of EMS issued an Advanced Life Support license for Twin City Ambulance Service. In 2004 the 1991 Pierce Lance, 75 foot ladder truck purchased with a federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) procured by Assistant Chief Jim Hartz. In January 2007 The Hickman Ambulance Service in Hickman, Kentucky was purchased for by the Twin City Ambulance Service and began operations on this date.

In 2007 Jim Hartz was promoted from Assistant Chief to Fire Chief. In May 2010 a 1996 Pierce Dash engine received in Fulton, Kentucky. The apparatus was purchased with a federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) procured by Chief Jim Hartz. Chief Hartz passed away suddenly on August 4, 2010. During Chief Hartz tenure the department experienced the Ice storm knocking out power and knocking down tree limbs and debris for most of our region.

In December 2010, Peter Lamb became the next Chief of Fulton Fire Department and Twin City Ambulance Service. During this time there was a huge amount of rain that caused the Mississippi River to reach critical flood stages. The end result was the Byrd’s Point Levee had to be blasted to provide relief on the already critical flood levees along the river. During his time Pete Lamb promoted Captain Mike Gunn to the Assistant Chief’s position. Pete Lamb resigned in June of 2011. City Manager Kenny Etherton resigned and Steven Freedman took the City Managers position.

July 2011 Assistant Chief Mike Gunn became the next Fire Chief. During Chief Gunn’s short time as Chief the Fulton City Commission voted on Monday November 28, 2011 to reduce full time fire department personnel. This was a result of the decision by Twin City Ambulance to transfer the management of the ambulance service to Parkway Regional Hospital. At a previous special call meeting held on November 22nd, 2011, the commission requested to see a more detailed overview of the fire department, including daily workload, finances, etc. Fulton Fire Chief Mike Gunn provided the commission with just that. Chief Gunn went into further detail on how they could possibly run the fire department after December 31st, 2011, when Parkway Regional Hospital takes over operation of the Twin City Ambulance Service on January 1st. Chief Gunn suggested that they keep three full time fire personnel to be on call during the day, Monday through Friday. Calls at night and on the weekends would be handled by volunteer firefighters. It was further suggested in response to low volunteer turnout, Chief Gunn’s idea would be have an incentive pay for volunteers. The number of the volunteer’s hours throughout the year would be tracked then the volunteer incentive pool would be divided by the number of man hours and a check issued to each firefighter based on the number of hours they had worked. As a result of Executive Session the commission passed municipal order 2011-229 stating that effective as of December 31st, 2011, the City of Fulton will reduce the fire department to no more than two full time fire personnel. On January 1, 2012 Chief Gunn assumed command of the now all volunteer fire department without an ambulance service, first time in 38 years. On January 9, 2012 Terry Rudolph was promoted to the Assistant Chief position.