Titus County has eight fire departments. The Mt. Pleasant Fire Department, established in 1904, is the oldest and largest. It began as a volunteer department, but in recent years has shifted more toward a full-time paid staff.
Talco, in northern Titus County, was next to form a fire department in 1936 during its oil boom, followed by Winfield in western Titus County.
For many years, these three departments provided the rest of the county's fire protection under an annual contract with the Titus County Commissioner's Court, who paid for equipment to be used in the county and contributed volunteer firefighter's pay for responding to county calls.
In recent years, several outlying rural communities formed their own volunteer fire departments to provide their residents with faster response times and better fire protection. Titus County's rural community fire departments are:
Five Star (Bridges Chapel Community)
Cookville (Cookville, Texas and vicinity)
Nortex (Chapel Hill Community)
Sugarhill (Sugarhill Community)
Tri-Lakes (Monticello/Blodgett Community)
When this was written in January, 2007, the Titus County Commissioner's Court assisted each rural fire department with $500 per month toward their operating expenses. State and federal grants are used to fund most expensive capital equipment purchases. Funds to cover operating expenses and smaller equipment purchases that exceed the $500 County budget allocation must be paid for by donations from residents of the community.
The rural community fire departments serve as first responders for all fires in their respective areas and are supported by other Titus County departments on large grass fires and structure fires. They also serve as first responders for serious traffic accidents and medical emergencies in their respective areas, supported by paramedics and mobile intensive care units from Titus Regional Medical Center. The county's fire departments are also first responders when tornadoes or strong storms create damage in the county.
The rural community departments serve to greatly reduce the time residents must wait for help to arrive, which can be considerable in some locations if the truck must come from Mt. Pleasant, Talco, or Winfield. By having firefighting equipment and personnel stationed fairly close, fires can be fought and many times extinguished in the first critical minutes while they are still small. Having a fire department in close proximity for first response also served to lower rural homeowner's insurance rates and to make insurance possible in areas where insurance companies were previously reluctant to write fire policies.
The concept of mutual aid is important to the fire service. Whether in downtown Mount Pleasant or in the far reaches of rural Titus County, a fire can occasionally overwhelm the local department's manpower and equipment. In Titus County, as in other Northeast Texas communities, it is impossible to always have the manpower and equipment that may be required for any circumstance. A fire starting in one business can quickly spread to one or more others due to the common-wall nature of downtown buildings. Likewise, a fire that starts as a small grass fire in a rural area can quickly spread to a large range fire if propelled through dry grass and woods by the right wind. Therefore, the Mount Pleasant and Titus County Fire Departments have always had mutual aid pacts with surrounding cities. In case of a major structure fire here, the surrounding towns, and not only those in Titus County, will send equipment and manpower to help fight the fire. Likewise, should they have a fire and need assistance, the Mount Pleasant and Titus County departments will send their men and equipment to help the neighboring town. The photo at the top of the Mt. Pleasant Fire Department History page was taken inside the Joy Theater in Mt. Vernon during a mutual aid call when the Mt. Pleasant Fire Department was called to assist Mt. Vernon during this major downtown fire in the 1970's.
An intra-county mutual aid plan is also used. When any rural fire department has a structure or large grass fire, all other departments in the county send one or more trucks and available manpower to assist them. During mutual aid calls, all equipment is not taken. Some men and equipment are left with their original departments in case of a fire on their "home turf".
Members of the county's volunteer fire departments deserve the resident's gratitude for the services they provide. The department furnishes bunker equipment (fire suits) for the firefighters, but they must purchase their own two way radios and other equipment required to do their job. They spend time each month in training to sharpen their skills and learn new firefighting methods. They take time away from their work and families on a moment's notice at all hours of the day and night to help their neighbors in need. Each firefighter receives $8.00 per run, regardless how much time is required to fight the fire. In today's economy, this doesn't cover the expense for gasoline for their private vehicles, much less wear and tear on them. Even so, some firefighters donate the money they receive back to their departments to help fund their operations.
Click a link for more information about the respective fire department.
Page 3 - Cookville Volunteer Fire Department
Page 4 - Five Star Volunteer Fire Department
Page 5 - Nortex Volunteer Fire Department
Page 7 - Talco Volunteer Fire Department
Page 8 - Tri-Lakes Volunteer Fire Department
Page 9 - Winfield Volunteer Fire Department
