FRIONA FIRE DEPT
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 34° 38.315 W 102° 43.080
13S E 709167 N 3835332
Friona has an all-volunteer Fire Department that provides fire protection services for the town and the surrounding area.
Waymark Code: WM13EH1
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/23/2020
Views: 1
Fire Department Website“Efforts to organize a fire department in Friona began around 1930 or 1931” according to Charley Bainum, in a newspaper article written Jan. 22, 1959. “I can’t remember the exact date” he says, “But, it was right after the old well was drilled.” (Bainum was referring to the city of Friona’s Well No. 1). Joe Landrum was mayor of Friona and after they got together with half a dozen men interested in fighting fires, Mr. Landrum appointed Howard Morris, the first Fire Chief in 1931.
In 1932, Jerome Buchanan, the owner of the International house donated an old school bus chassis, and this became the first fire truck in Friona. A box was built on the back to hold hoses. The only water pressure they had came from the fire hydrants.
In 1959, the City of Friona purchased a new fire engine. The new addition brought the local equipment up to date in order to qualify for state insurance law discounts.
This 1959 truck stayed in Friona until 2000, when it was sold at an auction and purchased by a collector in Altus, Ok. Sixteen years later this truck was again auctioned. On February 27, 2016, Danny and Holly Campbell drove to Altus, OK., bought the truck and brought it back home where it belongs.