Fire Department
Mission Statement 
The Trenton Fire Department is organized to provide for life and property safety from the threat of fires, natural or man-made disasters, vehicle accidents and water emergencies. This will be accomplished through planning, training, prevention, education, incident mitigation and appropriate application of technology.
Responsibilities & Objectives
The Trenton Fire Department serves in these areas:
- Fire Prevention
- Fire Suppression
- Underwater Rescue/Recovery
The objectives of the Trenton Fire Department include preventing fires, extinguishing fires, preventing loss of life and
property, confining fires to the place of origin, responding to water emergencies, completing all operations in a safe manner.
Suppressing Fires
Current activities:
Pre-fire planning
Training
Rescue
Current activities:
Training
Exercise
Extrication
Current Training:
Exercise
Water Emergencies:
Respond to affect rescue and recovery in water emergencies; follow department Standard Operating Guidelines; current activities
include training and training exercise
Fire Prevention Code Administration:
Building inspection and plans review
Training consists primarily in station with Firefighter I and Firefighter II. Some selected schools in various locations are attended. State firefighter Certification will be conducted in station by Certified Instructor in conjunction with University Missouri and Department of Public Safety.
Training in HazMat is also accomplished in station by instructors who have completed “Train the Trainer” Programs.
Certification consists of 150 hours per year per level of training.
History
The first fire company was organized in Trenton, April 2, 1873, with 38 members and was called the “Trenton Fire King”. In June the same year, the organization had sixty members on the rolls, the limit being eighty. The reason for so many members at this time was necessitated by the “Bucket Brigade” method of firefighting. The Fire King became defunct and was forced “to abdicate”, but a new company soon took it’s place, being organized under City Charter, July 2, 1889, and many years known as the “Rough and Ready Fire Company”. The equipment of the company at it’s inception consisted of a hook and ladder wagon “Rough and Ready” and two hose carts. The membership was limited to fifty, with thirty actual firefighters – inferring that it was a more exclusive organization than it’s predecessor. Actually fewer men were needed, because in 1896 a Water Works was established with fire hydrants in the city, enabling the hose cart crews to replace the Bucket Brigade. In 1908, the department was composed of a Fire Chief and a volunteer company of fifteen men, it was equipped with a team of horses, drop harness, hook and ladder wagon, and a hose cart with 2,200 feet of hose. When “Old Prince” the fire horse died in 1916, the City fathers were confronted with the problem of purchasing another horse, or investing in one of “them new-fangled motorwagons”. But when the new 40-horsepower Buckeye, a chain-driven fire wagon, arrived April 30,1916, placed a hose in the old well at Five Points and threw a stream of water almost as high as the flag pole, the populace fell back in amazement. The fire wagon was purchased. The Buckeye was traded for a “White” in, 1918, after only two years of service.
