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A Brief History of MFD
Fire Department records prior to 1900 are incomplete. Some information can be gleaned from newspaper articles. Below are few bits and pieces of information from such newspaper clippings.
- On September 2, 1884, the fire department was faced with the overwhelming task of putting out a fire, which was started in Leber's Bowling Alley by an arsonist. Twenty-two buildings were burned at a loss of $30,000.
- The first Fire Department facility was built in 1887 at the intersection of (what was then) Stevens and W. Main Sts. That building was constructed as a City Hall (housing for a period City offices, the Fire and Police Departments, and the City jail). It was turned over to the Fire Department for its sole use in 1912 when a new City Hall was completed.
- The first Missoula Fire Department Fireman's Ball, put on by the Department's volunteers, was held in 1889. Volunteers served until 1911, when a fully-paid Department was established.
- Shortly after Missoula's first fire department was organized in 1877 a fire broke out in the Kennedy House hotel. If it hadn't been for the fire department the whole town would have burned. Earlier that year, the establishment of a hook and ladder company had been urged because the "present condition of water pipes leaves us only ice and curses to hurl at fires."
- The first fire equipment was a hand-drawn hose reel. The first horse-drawn vehicle was a Wayne hose wagon purchased in 1889. It was named the C.P. Higgins in honor of the man who is believed to be the first fire chief.
- IAFF Local 271 organized on November 9th, 1927.
History of the Fire Chiefs
Records of Department officers start with the election of Chief Robert S. Mentrum in 1891. Those serving as Missoula Fire Department Chief (along with their Assistant Chief) since that time are:
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Chief
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Tenure
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| Robert S. Mentrum |
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1891 - 1898
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| T. Robert Burger |
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1898 - 1900
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| E. W. Walling |
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1900 - 1902
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| Albert H. May |
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1902 - 1910
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| A. K. Fox |
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1910 - 1912
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| Peter F. Loffnes |
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1912 - 1919
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| James T. Cranney |
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1919 - 1940
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| Arthur L. Quinn |
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1940 - 1947
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| Clare P. Kern |
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1947 - 1959
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| Herb Wohl |
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1959 - 1967
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| Robert E. Kelly |
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1967 - 1978
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| Jack Reed |
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1978 - 1980
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| Alfred J. Sampson |
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1980 - 1982
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| Burton K. Walsh |
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1982 - 1987
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| Charles H. Gibson |
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1987 - 1998
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| Robert C. Deeds |
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1998 - 2002
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| Thomas A. Steenberg |
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2002 - 2008
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| Michael L. Painter |
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2008 - 2012
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| Jason Diehl |
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2012 - Present
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Assistant Chief
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Tenure
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| Jack P. Reed |
1967 - 1978
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| Alfred J. Sampson |
1978 - 1980
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| Charles H. Gibson |
1980 - 1987
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| Charles H. Gibson |
1980 - 1987
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| Marshall R. Kyle |
1987 - 1998
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| Earl C. Hall |
1999 - 2002
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| Michael L. Painter |
2003 - 2008
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| Jason D. Diehl |
2005 - present
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| Jeffrey W. Logan |
2009 - 2011
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| Jeff Brandt |
2011 - 2015
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More Information:
Employment
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