History
The first
fire
department
in Houghton
was
established
December 12,
1861,
creating the
Continental
Fire Co. No.
1.
The first
fire
fighting
equipment
was a hand
operated
pumper,
purchased
from the S.S
Smith
Company for
$225.00. The
first
motorized
fire
fighting
equipment
was not
purchased
until 1923.
In
1897, the
Houghton
Council
appointed
Louis
Voetsch as
the city's
first Fire
Chief who
served until
1914. The
following
people have
served as
Fire Chief
since that
time:
2.
Ray
Eggleston
(1914 -
1942)
3. Si
Evans
(1942 -
1949)
4. Ralph
Voetsch
(1949 -
1964)
5. Gus
Colombe
(1964 -
1965)
6. Chas
Hornick
(1965 -
1966)
7. Jim
Chappell
(1966 -
1995)
8. Jim
Lightfoot
1995 -
2012
9. Mike
Reynolds
2012 -
present
Present
Our Fire
Hall was
built in
1994 at the
corner of
Sharon
Avenue and
Gundlach
Road. The
department's
equipment
includes a
2010 Dodge
mini pumper,
a 2000
Spartan
Metro pumper,
a 2006 HME
pumper, and
a 1989 LTI
100' aerial
platform.
The Houghton
Fire
Department
also covers
all of
Michigan
Tech
University
property.
The present
staff
includes:
-
Mike
Reynolds
Fire
Chief
-
Al
Jurkanis
1st
Assistant
-
Mike
Hermann
2nd
Assistant
-
Eric
James
Captain
of
Apparatus
-
and 22
Volunteers
Apply
If you are
interested
in applying
for a
volunteer
position
with the
Houghton
Fire
Department,
please fill
out the
application
below and
return it to
the city
office.
