HISTORY of the DEPARTMENT

The Forest View Fire District was established in January 1942, its boundaries being those of the Forest View housing development in the Gang Mills area. A group of men in the development formed the Forest View Fire Company and elected the following officers: President Sydney Sprage, Vice President Judson Rogers, Secretary Dorr Harvey, Financial Secretary Fuller Allen, Fire Chief Claud Vosburg.In July 1942, a group from the hamlet of Gang Mills petitioned the Town Board to enlarge the fire district to include the Gang Mills hamlet. Approval was granted, and the district was enlarged to its present size. The name of the fire department was changed to the Forest View - Gang Mills Fire Department.

The name of the Forest View Fire District remains unchanged today, and is run by a Board of Fire Commissioners.
The first piece of apparatus was a 1927 Amercian LaFrance Metropolitan pumper with a 1000 gpm rotary pump. It was housed in the garage where the Town of Erwin Highway Department is now.
On November 17, 1954, Roy Pearsall donated a building lot to the Fire Department just west of the highway department. On june 9, 1955 ground was broken to build a two story building. The Fire Department was housed in this building until 1980 When it was to small to handle all the equipment that the growing community needed.

In 1980 the Fire Department moved to a newly built 4 large and 5 small bays station at Forest Drive. Then in October of 1996, constuction begun to expand the building to meet the needs of even faster growing community and industrial business. It was completed in august of 1987, resulting in the building we have today.The Station now houses all apparatus and fire fighting equipment on one side, with a meeting/class room, offices and a Ready Room on the other side. This makes it safer for firefighters responding to calls and enables meetings or classes in progress to be undisturbed by department activities. This provides dedicated space for firefighters, officers and staff.

Town of Erwin History