The Perry Fire Department has been protecting area residents for almost 14 decades.  Though it’s a volunteer department now, that wasn’t always the case.

Assistant Fire Chief and Iowa Fire Museum owner Brian Eiteman says the department started in 1878 with 15 men and some fire buckets.

“Throughout that time, they saw a lot of the big fires that are happening in these towns.  Back in the 1800s all you’re going to have is wooden buildings and all of them had fireplaces, so it just took a little bit of a spark and that was all she wrote.  Eventually they got (paid) one-dollar per call.  Back in 1905 is when they started getting paid, and that was quite a little bit of money back then.”

As a comparison, the current department, which is run on a volunteer basis with dozens of firefighters on the roster, only gets paid $10 per call they respond to.

Eiteman will continue to share the history of the department each month with us as part of a new series here on the Raccoon Valley Radio network.