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Information provided by Hershel E. Blanton, 2005

The Laurel County Fire Department was organized in November 1962. The concerns of the insurance companies and the citizens of the City of London brought this about. At the time the City of London Fire Department took care of all the fires in Laurel County. The concerns of the insurance companies and the citizens were that if the fire department was fighting a fire in the county, then the city of London was left unprotected and there would be neither firefighters nor equipment to take care of the city.

Mayor Joe Parman offered to sell one of the older fire trucks that the city fire department had to Laurel County. The Laurel County Fiscal Court voted to take the money from the parking meters around the courthouse to pay for the truck. This first truck was a 1947 International K Model that had a 500 gallon water tank.

Several firefighters from the City of London were the founding fathers of the Laurel County Fire Department. Following is a list of the first roster, and I apologize if the information is incomplete.

The Laurel County Fire Department was first housed in the basement of the London City Hall Building which was built in 1941 by the WPA. (Photo during construction circa 1941)

The Laurel County Fire Department then moved to a building on Broad Street. It was a garage on the ground floor and occupied by Dr. C.B. Ison on the upper floor. That building was used until 1968. Today it is part of the Sentinel Echo Newspaper Building.

During 1967 the firefighters started to raise money for the purchase of a new fire truck. A new truck was ordered in 1967 and was delivered in 1968. The truck was a Ford and had a 1000 gallon tank with a pump that would pump 750 GPM, it was white, so the people could tell which fire department was responding in the county. That tradition still holds today. When the new truck arrived, the building that housed the old fire truck was to small to hold both trucks.

It was then in 1968 that John Peters, a local Blacksmith, offered for sale to the fire department his building on Sipple Street to be used as a fire station. It was purchased for $12,000, the building was home to the Laurel County Fire Department until 1979.

In 1980 a new fire station was completed on the site of the Peters Building. This new building was dedicated to Lawrence "Blackfire" McClain, a founding member of the Laurel County Fire Department and London Laurel County Rescue Squad. The main station was then shared with the Rescue Squad and since then known as "The McClain Building".

The Laurel County Fire Department responded to all of the fire calls outside the city limits of London. During the next several years, other fire departments were organized in the county. This was due to the response time and the distance from the City of London and the Laurel County Fire Department. Being a 100% volunteer department then and still today, the firefighters have to leave their jobs to go to help the public. The other fire departments started in the mid 60's, 70's and even into the 80's. Today there are a total of nine fire departments in Laurel County not including the London Fire Department.

In the beginning the Laurel County Fire Department was a part of the Laurel County Fiscal Court. Then in 1994, the Laurel County Fiscal Court appointed a Board of Directors to over see the day to day operations and financies of the fire department. Since that time the fire department has grown by leaps and bounds.

During the early history of the Laurel County Fire Department, financial help came from the Fiscal Court when they could afford it and from public donations. In 1984 the fire department had a great need to replace outdated equipment and the Fiscal Court could not afford to buy the needed equipment for all nine departments. It was then that the Laurel County Fire Department began to play Bingo to raise the much needed funds for improvements.

During the 1980's and 90's, Laurel County saw a great deal of new construction, commercial and residential. As new subdivisions were completed the Laurel County Fire Department saw a need to expand it's coverage area. In 1998, the Board of Directors purchased a piece of property on Hwy. 192 West, 2.5 miles West of I-75 and constructed Station #2, which is big enough to house five trucks. At the present time there are two complete fire engines at this station.

In 1999, the Board of Directors decided that the building on Sipple Street was no longer suitable for the needs of the department and decided to build a new Station. The Board purchased 7.5 acres on East Fourth Street and built a 22,500 sq. ft. state of the art facility. Station #1, The Blanton Building, located at 911 T.L.C. Lane and named in honor of Past Firefighter, Past Chief and current Chairman of the Board of Directors, Hershel E. Blanton, was occupied in the fall of 2001.

Today, The Blanton Building is the main fire station of the Laurel County Fire Department housing three fire engines, one brush fire truck, an emergency response vehicle and Light, Air and Power vehicle. On the second floor are located the several offices of the Executive and Operations Branches, as well as classrooms, fitness room, dorms, kitchen and dining area, recreation room and lounge area for the firemen. Also located here are the offices of the KCTCS State Fire Rescue Training Coordinator for Area 13. The fire department continues with their charitable gaming fund raising as their main means of financial support.

If anyone would like to come by and tour our facility, our doors are always open to the public. Give us a call if you have a church, civic or youth group and we will give you a special guided tour of our facility and equipment.