Prior to 1978 the Arkansas
Forestry Commission provided an antique Seagrave engine to the city, this
truck was stored in the old fair barn which was located near our current
station. There was no organized fire department in those days, just
the old Seagrave and a handful of citizens who took the responsibility of
fighting fire in Ash Flat during the 1960's & 70's. The Seagrave
was returned the Forestry Commission in the mid 70's and very little
information was available about it or its whereabouts.

When a fire truck salesman visited the
city council and demonstrated a new apparatus the city took an immediate
interest in establishing a fire department. The city paid for a
portion of the brand new 1978 truck and it was delivered. The
remaining balance was paid for by local businesses and citizens who banded
together to raise the additional funds. Plans were made to establish
an official fire department in the Ash Flat Community, this dream later became reality, and in November of 1978 the Ash
Flat Fire Department came into existence. In 1979 AFFD answered its first
alarm with a crew of 4 volunteers. Over the years the number of calls
increased and the fire department began to grow.

1990
In 1991 the city hired one fulltime firefighter who worked a day shift five
days a week. This decision was partially based on the fact that many
of the volunteers worked out of the city during the day and were unable to
respond to incidents.
In 1996 a second firefighter was hired on
the day shift.
A third fulltime firefighter was
hired by the city in 1997. The three firefighters each worked 24
hours on shift and 48 hours off, this made it possible for the fire
department to have someone on duty at the station 24 hours a day.
1997
In 2004 the position of a full time chief was
introduced which gave the fire department a total of four full time
personnel.
In its 30
year history AFFD has had some 67 men and women who have served this great
community. These personnel have logged thousands of hours of training and
given thousands of hours of service to the community.

2001
Today AFFD is a
combination of volunteer and paid personnel who maintain the department’s
reputation of excellence and professionalism both among their peers and in
the community. At this time AFFD has 17 active firefighters and one
chaplain.

2003

2008
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