HISTORY
1932—As a service to the community, Francis Wolbrink purchased a 1929 Chevrolet dump truck and converted it into Allendale’s first fire truck. They equipped it with a 500 gallon open top tank for easy filling with pails or ten gallon milk cans. A 200 gallon per minute irrigation pump and a stretch of fire hose supplied a good stream of water. Round bottom buckets were stored in bins on both sides of the tank. The truck had a loud bell up front that could be rung by a rope through the windshield alerting those along the way. Around 1945 - Under the leadership of John Gemmen, who was a member of the Township Board, a group of men organized a Volunteer Fire Department. These men received training from the Grand Rapids Fire Department.
