Key West Fire Department Celebrates 150 Years!

The Key West Fire Department is celebrating 150 years of service to the community, and we want you to come celebrate with us!

On Saturday, October 11th, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., the KWFD and the Alex Vega Firehouse Museum will host a birthday party at the Truman Waterfront Park. There will be a parade of the departments’ equipment, food, demonstrations, and family-fun activities.

Established in 1875, the department replaced an all-volunteer fire department, one of the first in the state of Florida.

Twelve years after the Great Fire of 1886, City officials created the Key West Fire Department in 1875. That horrific fire burned more than 50 acres of Key West. When the fire broke out, the city’s only steam-powered fire engine had been placed on a ship and sent to New York for repairs.

The community is encouraged to join us to see how far we’ve come. State-of-the-art ambulances, fire trucks, a ladder truck and even a fire boat have earned the department an ISO Class #1 rating. Rapid response times, outstanding and continuous training, and much more have earned the rating, which translates to insurance rate savings for home and business owners.
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For a real trip into the department’s history, don’t forget to visit the Alex Vega Firehouse Museum at 1024 Grinnell Street.