Before Mrs. O’Leary’s cow knocked over the lantern, causing the great Chicago fire of 1871, organized fire protection was unheard of in Leamington.

But the following year, the village decided offering protection against catastrophes was a definite priority.

From 1872-1882, Captain James A. Baker and S.F. Henderson headed up fire protection for the village and it’s 300 residents. It was the sound of a steel triangle being struck that alerted volunteers of the Eureka Fire Company that a fire was burning somewhere in the village.

Buckets were their sole means of fighting fires until a horse-drawn, four-wheeled wagon with a piston-type pump was made available in the late 1870’s. The pump, equipped with a rocker arm on each side, was manned by volunteers on each side, continuously pulling up and down. Water from surface wells or the Selkirk Drain was pumped through leather hoses riveted together.

A devastating fire that destroyed most of Leamington’s business section on May 14, 1883, forced the village to reevaluate their fire protection. In 1885 the fire protection service was reorganized as the Franklin Fire Company Number One, with Peter Franklin as the first chief.

At a special meeting, February 26, 1885, a vacant lot, located on the south side of Talbot Street West, owned by Lewis Wigle became their new headquarters.

March 3, 1885, the members of the fire department passed a bylaw allowing volunteers between the ages of 15 and 60 to become members of the department. Missed meetings resulted in fines between a dime and a quarter. In 1887 the department was dissolved.

For more than a year, Leamington residents were without fire protection services. In 1888, once again the department was reorganized. In 1891 the fire department became known as the Leamington Fire Brigade, eventually becoming the Leamington Fire Department.

Once the village had access to a water distribution system, two-wheeled hose carts came into action. They were pulled by the firemen to the scene of the fire, 2 ½” hose was connected to the hydrant and they began the chore of extinguishing the fire. The problem though, was that there was no shutoff on the nozzle, so extensive water damage often resulted.

In 1917 Leamington received their first motorized fire truck. The chain driven truck, bells ringing, had no pump but was used to transport the men and their equipment to and from the scenes of the fires.

In the late 1920’s an electrically operated fire alarm, designed by Chief Roy Kellow, was installed in the homes and businesses of all the department’s men. It wasn’t until 1930 that Leamington’s first pumper was purchased. It was a brand new, custom-made Bickle that is still owned by the department today. To alert the volunteers at that time, a steam whistle was sounded from the water works department, unti it was moved to the H.J. Heinz plant in 1942.

The area of fire protection services was extended in 1954 to include the village of Seacliff, when their ratepayers chipped in the money to purchase a truck.

The boundaries grew once again in 1959 when Leamington and Mersea Township councils worked out an agreement to provide protection to the entire township, if Mersea provided the additional trucks needed. The Leamington Fire Department covered the western half of the township and the Wheatley Fire Department served the eastern half of the township.

(Picture of Oil Painting by Leamington Artist Harold Burton)

In 1999 Leamington and Mersea joined together to become the Corporation of the Municipality of Leamington, encompassing 92 square miles of urban and rural mix.

At the current time the department responds to approximately 500 calls per year. The average response time is 4 minutes in the urban area and 7.4 minutes in the rural area. A far cry from the buckets used over 130 years ago, the department now boasts a Heavy Duty Rescue Command Unit, one-95’ Aerial Platform Pumper Unit, one 50’ Snorkle Pumper Unit, Two Pumpers and one 1500 gallon Pumper Tanker Unit. The department also operates three 4-wheel drive Chiefs’ Units, one Fire Prevention Unit and during the boating season a 23' Sea Swirl Rescue Boat is stationed at the Leamington Marina.