Getting started: The Ionia Volunteer Fire Company had its beginning as a result of a devastating house fire across from the Methodist Church on what is now Elton Road. The neighboring fire companies could not get to the scene of the fire in time to even attempt to save the structure. The "Ionia Protectives", consisting of men and teenage boys in the community, was formed on the steps of the Methodist Church. Work was soon begun on fundraising and building a two-bay firehouse at 8338 County Road 14. In November 1954, the Ionia Volunteer Fire Company was incorporated; anyone not yet 18 years old could not become a member. So, the teenage boys who had been participating had to wait until they were 18 to become members.

The firehouse: The existing firehouse was built entirely by the members with the help of some community members both young and old. In the picture above, the two bays on the left were the original bays built in the 1950's. Not long after, a kitchen, storage area, and two bathrooms with a meeting room above was added behind these first two bays. In 1978, the volunteers went to work again and added an entry way, radio room, storage area, and the two bays on the right side in the picture above. These two new bays were higher and wider than the two original bays to accommodate the larger fire trucks that were being built at the time. Today, we once again are faced with a similar dilemma. In the next few years, we will have to replace one of the pumper/tanker fire trucks; all of the new trucks are too large to go through any of the doors.

Fire trucks: The first fire-fighting vehicles were nothing more than water tanks strapped to wagon frames that were pulled by the fire fighters' personal trucks. The first pumper owned by the young fire company was a 1939 white Chevrolet pumper. Yes, it is still on display today. It was purchased used from the Lakeville Fire Company and was used actively until the early 1970's. Through the late 1950's and 1960's, several other used fire trucks were purchased with the pump mounted on the front of the truck.

The first completely new piece of apparatus purchased was a 1964 Ford tanker that had a portable pump to load and unload the water. The pump had to be started manually with a rope-starter. In 1975, the first new pumper/tanker was purchased. It was built on a Ford chassis by Young Fire Equipment. At the time, the members deliberated long and hard about spending $45,000 on this new truck. Then, in 1986, a second new pumper/tanker was purchased for about $90,000. In 1997, the 1975 pumper/tanker was replaced at a cost of about $180,000. See the pattern... Every 11 years the price doubles. So, the truck we purchased in 1975 for $45,000 would cost about $360,000 today. When will we have to purchase our next truck? Not sure, but the 1986 truck is now 20 years old. Can you make your cars last 20 years?

Raising money: Over the years, there have been four basic sources of money to fund the activities of the fire company: fundraising events, donations, grants, and taxes. In the early years, it was all done with only fundraising events and donations. In the mid-1950's, the first Ionia Firemen's Carnival was held. Little did they know that this would become an annual event, lasting into the mid-1980's. The first few carnivals were held in the triangle field just east of what is now known as Asparagus Junction. Attendance grew year by year, and the carnival had to be moved to the grounds around the new firehouse just down the street. Permanent buildings were erected to replace the tents that were used for the food, beer, and clams/chicken barbeque. Those structures can still be seen today. In those early days, many dinners were served to the public to raise money as well. Probably the most famous was the Mother's Day ham dinner that was continued well into the late 1980's. Eventually, the firemen's wives said: "Enough is enough; we are mothers too and we would like to be with our spouses on that day." So, these dinners were phased out by first moving it to a day earlier in the week and then by stopping it altogether. Somewhere through the years, the West Bloomfield Town Board started sending funds to both the Ionia and West Bloomfield Fire Companies. Over the years, more and more money was provided to each fire company. Today, this tax money provides a significant portion of the annual operating budget. Grant money is difficult to acquire, but we have been successful several times in recent years in obtaining grant money for specific items.

The future: We are optimistic about the future. We need only two things to keep the fire company sustainable for the foreseeable future:  volunteers and money. The area is growing with young families and, hopefully, some of these young folks will join the fire company. Regarding financing:  With more volunteers, we can increase the number of fundraising events. The community continues to be very generous during our annual fund drive, and we have the support of the Town Board to continue providing some level of financial support. We have every reason to believe we will be around for a long time to come.