The Wichita Falls Fire Department was first formed as a volunteer department in 1891. By 1913 the department had converted to a career fire department. Throughout its history, the department has always had a reputation for being progressive and innovative.
The department is credited with having the first motorized piece of fire apparatus west of the Mississippi River as well as being the first department west of the Mississippi River to have a 100-foot aerial apparatus. In 1949, the citizens of Wichita Falls were among the first in Texas to approve an initiative to make the department operate under State Civil Service law.
Ebner Brothers Fire in 1986
In 1985 the department formed what is still the only certified hazardous materials response team in a 100-mile radius. In 1991 the department began a medical First Responder program. All personnel are certified to a minimum of Basic Structural Firefighter with the Texas Commission on Fire Protection and the Basic level of Emergency Medical Technician with the Texas Department of State Health Services.