Fire Department Walking Tour

Organized fire protection in the old city of Madison, Indiana can first be traced back to 1821, just twelve years after the city’s founding in 1809. Since the beginning, its fire companies have taken the business of firefighting very seriously. The equipment used by the firefighters here has always been of the most advanced design and model. By 1840 the city could boast several hand pumpers, some of which were the same design as being used in New York City and New Orleans, an unheard of feat for a small town like Madison,

By 1859, the first steam fire engine was delivered. It was built in Philadelphia by the firm of Reanie & Neafie, and it was among the first steam fire engines west of Ohio and among only about one hundred in the entire country at the time. Madison operated a total of seven steam fire engines from 1859 to 1920.

In the years that followed, Madison’s fire department has grown to include six independent fire companies, all of whom contract with the city for municipal fire protection. Today the fire department is unique in the fact that each company operates different colored apparatus which are yellow, red, white, green, red & white, and blue & white.