Fire Department

318-251-8628
Fire@ruston.org

History

Ruston was founded in 1883, and chartered as a town on October 13, 1884. Like other pioneer towns, a need was soon seen for some form of fire protection. The first piece of firefighting equipment in Ruston was a two-wheeled tank with a hand pump. Since there was no fire department or fire station at this time, the tank was kept outside the Mayor's office. When a fire occurred, the tank was pushed to the fire by any manpower available. One such fire in 1893 destroyed the old Ruston College which was built in 1885 on the site where City Hall now stands. This fire was reportedly started by a misdirected Christmas rocket.

In 1897, faced with the growth and prosperity of Ruston, the town installed running water, organized the Ruston Volunteer Fire Department (R.V.F.D.), and built a fire station at 200 Easy Mississippi, where the old Central Fire Station is today. Ben F. Thompson was the first Fire Chief selected. Fire protection consisted of volunteer firemen, and a horse drawn hose and ladder wagon. During the following 18 years, at least three teams of horses were used to pull the wagons. The firemen were summons to fires by ringing the fire bell that hung in a wooden tower behind Perkins Drug Store located at 116 N. Trenton. In 1915 the R.V.F.D purchased their first motorized fire wagon, a Type 20 American-La-France combination wagon (Chemical and Hose).

The minutes of a town council meeting in 1922 show the council accepted the resignations of all fire department personnel, with the exception of the truck driver, and appointed a committee to organize a new fire department. No reason was given for the resignations. Just seven years later on October 23, 1929 the department log book states “All of crew quit work at 4pm volunteer crew immediately organized” four out of five paid men resigned, the only remaining man John Hudson Jones became acting chief. On November 15, 1929 the Ruston Daily Leader reported that the “Ruston City Council voted to have a complete reorganization of the fire department,” and the present fire department was established.

Ruston Fire Department Chief's	Dates of Service
Ben F. Thompson	1897 –
Frank S. Price	–
O. K. (Kence) Davis	? –1922
Larkin Booles Breed	1922 – 1928
J. M. (Pat) Hammett	1928 – Oct 23, 1929
O. K. (Kence) Davis	Aug 15, 1930 – Mar 1, 1940
T. E. (Tomp) Raley	Mar 1, 1940 – Jul 14, 1942
James T. (Jimmy) Mabry	Jul 15, 1942 – Oct 1, 1972
James H. Pipes	Oct 1, 1972 – Dec 31, 1989
Van A. McDonald	May 7, 1990 – Feb 18, 1998
Donnie L. Watson	Feb 20, 1998 - Sept 28, 2004
James T. Tornabene	April 25, 2005 - Present