I have referenced information from this book for Detroit Fire Department history several times. It has a lot of interesting photos as well.
Detroit Fire Historical Record 1825-1977 (Turner Publishing Company, 1977)
Detroit Firemen’s Fund Association Has Launched Their Renovated Website
The Detroit Firemen’s Fund Association has been around for 147 years. Their mission is to help Detroit Firefighters, firefighters’ organizations and the community. You may recognize their latest project, The Michigan Fallen Firefighter’s Memorial Rig from the funeral of Wayne Westland Firefighter Brian Woelke.
Many people who know about The Fund don’t realize it is not run by City of Detroit or Detroit Fire Department management. It is an independent association whose membership is made up of exclusively by Detroit Firefighters, and run by an elected Board of Trustees.
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Funeral Arrangements for Retired Lt. Clarence T. Gibson
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Clarence T. Gibson
Retired Lieutenant, E-8
Brother of Chief Vincent Gibson
Lived: 01/22/1943 to 10/27/2013
Served: 0122-1973 to 10-01-2001
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Service: Saturday, November 2, 2013
10:00 am Family Hour
11:00am Service
Church of the Madonna
1125 Oakman Blvd.
Detroit, MI 48238
(VIEW MAP)
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Interment: Mt. Elliot Cemetery
Detroit, MI
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Funeral Arrangements for Detroit Fire Chief Chaplain Allen McNeeley
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Allen J. McNeeley
Chief Chaplain
Lived: 08/22/1927 to 10/26/2013
Served: information to come
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Firefighter please wear Class A uniforms while paying your respects.
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Visitation: Friday, November 1, 2013
9:00am – 9:00pm
Family Hour – 6:00pm – 7:00pm
Tribute Service – 7:00pm – 9:00pm
James H. Cole Home for Funerals
Northwest Chapel – 16100 Schaefer Hwy.
Detroit, MI
(VIEW MAP)
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Service: Saturday, November 2, 2013
11:00am
Repast at Church Hall following mass
Blessed Sacrament Cathedral
9844 Woodward Ave
Detroit, MI
(VIEW MAP)
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Private Interment:
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery
Southfield, MI
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Firefighter please wear Class A uniforms while paying your respects.
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Largest Loss of Detroit Firefighter’s Lives In History
Today in Detroit Fire History – October 5th, 1894
The Detroit Fire Department suffered the loss of firefighters’ lives from a single incident in its history.
On the morning of October 5th, 1894 wood shavings in the basement of Keenan & Jahn’s Furniture Store caught fire. The fire quickly spread up the elevator shaft to the top of the 5 story building.
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Detroit Fire Department 101 – We Go In!
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This is a guest post by Retired Detroit Firefighter John Randall. |
My First Assignment
My first assignment with Detroit Fire Department in 1973 was Engine 27 at Junction & Rogers. My Captain was Charlie Fisher. I worked with Best, Ventre, Haig, Mlinarich, Gurski, Klann, Kelly, Lisuk, Birmingham, Brachulis, Bartlett, Moyer, Foresi, Michinchak, Roman, Bitten, Brown, Lipscomb, Strach, Baxter, Hickman, Bryce, Dodson, Shirley, Pancake, Haney, Hoffman & Rocky. 
There was a racket ball court on the 3rd floor, which we used often. The 7th Battalion was a lot slower back in those days. Rocky was the engine house mascot.
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Did You Know #005 – Detroit Firefighter / Mr. Michigan
Did you know that Detroit Fire Department had a 2 time Mr. Michigan winner among it’s ranks?
Don Van Fleteren, Detroit Firefighter and bodybuilder won the title of Mr. Michigan in both 1952 and 1960. For a number of years, he also competed in the Mr. America contest where in 1955 he placed 3rd overall.
This 1960 press photo of Don is offered for sale by Historic Images. (www.historicimages.com) If you like historic photos, they’ve got a great selection.
The caption on the back of this press photo reads:
GUIDED MUSCLES
Detroit, Mich: A mountain of muscle, Detroit Fireman Don Van Fleteren shows off the biceps that helped him win the title of Mr. Michigan of 1960. Chosen as a highlight of Michigan Week festivities, Van Fleteren is a 6′ 1 1/2″ 225-pounder, married and the father of a 5-year-old girl, the 31-year-old Hercules placed 3rd in the Mr. America Contest five years ago.
Strength and Health Magazine 1954 featuring Detroit Firefighter Don Van Fleteren on the cover.
This Surprised Us!
The originally thought was to mow a vacant lot, pick up debris, and board up a few vacant houses on a single block of Campbell Street. What ended up happening surprised us.
It began when Detroit firefighters stationed in the area learned of a house being renovated by Nicole Curtis for her show Rehab Addict (which airs on HGTV and DIY Network). When you look at the area surrounding Nicole’s house you see a neighborhood that is still connected, still trying to hold on. Neighbors there know each other. They do their best to keep grass mowed and debris out of vacant lots. This is a neighborhood that has not given up, a neighborhood that just needed a boost.
This is just one of the reasons we choose this neighborhood. Residents here are working hard to maintain a sense of community pride.
Detroit Firemen’s Fund and DFDLegacy.com started spreading the word of the need for volunteers to help this southwest Detroit neighborhood. Help came in so many ways. Detroit and surrounding area firefighters, business that donated time and items, local media who helped highlight what items we needed, and most importantly, residents of the area came to help.
One of the best parts of this project was seeing young people from the area get involved. Several local kids jumped in without prompting from adults. They grabbed a pair of work gloves and started hauling brush to dumpsters. Although I know the brush can get out of control, and grass can grow long again, I am confident that the positive impression made on these young people will not soon fade.
We set out with the small goal of mowing a vacant lot and securing vacant houses on a single block, and together, we accomplished so much more than we had originally planned.
Overview of project accomplishments:
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| Volunteers Overview:
The true heros of this project are our volunteers. Without the hard work and sweat equity they gave, nothing could have been accomplished. Our volunteers included:
Detroit
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| Donors Overview: Donations of much needed items were provided by the following:
If the opportunity arises to support the companies that have supported us, we ask you to please do so. Their selfless dedication to community service makes them stand out amongst their competition. |
On our first day, Thursday, we tackled the yard and surrounding sidewalk of a vacant home at the corner of Horatio and Campbell.
The view as we began clearing overgrown brush. There’s a sidewalk in there, somewhere.
Brush and trees were so overgrown that the sidewalks were unusable. By the end of the day, a neighbor who lived on the
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Detroit Fire Department Headquarters History – August 1st
Today in Detroit Fire Department History – August 1, 1929
The third Detroit Fire Department Headquarters building was completed. It was located at 250 W. Larned, (Larned & Washington Blvd.). This replaced the previous headquarters located at Wayne & Larned.
It was designed by Hans Gehrke. Mr. Gehrke designed several fire stations in the city during the 1920s abd 1930s.
The 5 story building’s first floor originally housed fire apparatus assigned to cover the growing downtown area. Other floors of the building were designated as living quarters for the men assigned there and offices for department administrations. In the later years fire companies were reassigned to other stations, and the building was use solely for adminsistrative offices.
Fire Headquarters was moved to a new Public Safety Headquarters in July 2013. This building has been sold to a developer who plans to convert it into a botique hotel.
View video of the 250 W. Larned, Fire Headquarters here.
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Detroit Firemen’s Fund Looking for Volunteers for Television Show / House Renovation / Block Clean-Up
Detroit Firefighters have a unique perspective on the changes, both good and bad, that have taken place in the City of Detroit. We spend day after day, and year after year, in areas of the city that most people are never exposed to. It is often frustrating to watch homes that have relatively minor fire damage decay with each passing year. We cheer when a home we saved from the ravages of fire is restored and reoccupied. Those cheers have been few and far between in Detroit.
It is no wonder that the Detroit Firemen’s Fund is issuing a challenge to firefighters, and non-firefighters alike to take part in saving one such home and be on the DIY Network’s television show Rehab Addict. The show stars Michigan native Nicole Curtis. They are rehabbing a partially burned, 1929 Tudor style home in southwest Detroit and are looking for volunteers to work on the restoration and be filmed for an upcoming show.
The Detroit Firemen’s Fund heard of the project from a Detroit firefighter stationed in the area. When they learned of the need for volunteers they stepped up. With assistance from DFDLegacy.com, they are putting out the a challenge to Detroit firefighters, surrounding fire departments, and anyone else who wants to get involved. Additionally, the Fund will be providing drinking water and lunch for those volunteers.
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