Wisconsin Fire Department Celebrates 100 Years of Service

In 1915, Woodrow Wilson was president, the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial was put into place, and in a tiny, rural southeastern Wisconsin community, a volunteer fire department began.

On Saturday, Sept. 19, the Okauchee Fire Department will celebrate its 100th anniversary with an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. at the department on Shady Lane just east of the Post Office.

A lot has changed in 100 years, but one thing remains constant: The department stands ready to protect the lives and property of the community it serves.

“It was a volunteer department then, and it’s still 100-percent volunteer,” said Dan Ferrise, president of the department. Today, the department covers all of the village of Oconomowoc Lake and part of the town of Oconomowoc.

According to a fire department booklet that was created in 1958, about 300 people resided in the area during the department’s formation.

Initially, the department was given the use of a garage. Firefighters built the first firehouse on donated land, which remains the current site.

The firefighters incorporated in 1921; taxes raised money for a fully equipped REO Speed Wagon with a 350-gallon tank.

Door-to-door solicitation raised enough funds in 1917 for the department to purchase a Ford chemical tank. In 1926, a Lincoln automobile was converted into a fire truck, and the station was enlarged to a two-truck garage.

There have been several additions to the building and many equipment acquisitions in the department’s history.

“It’s (the firehouse) about five or six times bigger (than the original facility),” Ferrise said. “The equipment has changed over the years. We have three pumpers, tankers, dive vehicles, a four-wheeler for brush fires and dive boat for rescues. We also have a hovercraft that was donated to us by a local resident that is strictly for ice rescues.”

From the inaugural group of 17 firefighters, the current department counts 42 members between the firefighters and emergency medical services

“It’s a bunch of great people to work with,” said Dan Schiller, administrative assistant of fire/emergency medical services at the Okauchee Fire Department.

Fire Chief Tracy Steele agreed.

“We’re always looking for members, especially in the daytime. It’s hard to find volunteers who can donate their time,” Steele said.

The department holds two major fundraisers a year to help purchase items not included in its annual budget. The first is an ice golf tournament in January. The second is a street dance, held annually in August. The two events raise about $10,000 each year.

Sue Lincoln, the department’s secretary, urges others to consider joining the department and said it has been her experience that members of the department make the commitment for reasons beyond pay.

“They will tell you it is the privilege of paying it forward with their God-given talents to help the helpless, knowing in their heart that the individual in need at that given moment may someday be there for them in their hour of despair,” she said.

“What you get back in return cannot be measured in dollars and cents. The OKFD will become a fabric of your life that will demarcate another dimension of your character and bring out the very best in you and in those lives where you will make a difference.”

Interested candidates are welcome to stop by the department on any Monday evening to pick up an application and meet some of the volunteers.

To mark the 100th anniversary, a commemoration program will begin at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The event includes refreshments, demonstrations and fire truck rides.

“We’ll have a demonstration of our equipment, and our dive unit will be there along with Flight for Life,” Schiller explained.

“I’m proud of it being a volunteer fire department for 100 years,” the 36-year veteran said.

“This is a good opportunity for people to get to know us better,” he added.