Photos by Ava Huelskamp and Josh Harris
ghfd helmet
August marks 100 years of the Grandview Heights Fire Department (GHFD) saving cats, fighting fires and making memories. Since 1924, the staff has shown its affinity for the people it works with and those in the community, and they are excited to celebrate this milestone together.
The department had humble beginnings with its first Fire Chief, Merle Klingensmith, who lived with his family at the fire station and raised his children in the room that is now the police detectives’ office.
Looking back
All firefighters in 1924 were volunteers and the only employee on the payroll was the chief. The GHFD was created by Mayor Ryder in August after Columbus cut Grandview out of its area of service.
The original structure lives on in the heart of the current fire station, which over the years has grown around the 100-year-old foundation. Fire Medic and Historian Josh Harris still maintains one of the department’s first trucks, which is used in parades and community events.
The crew has held onto the department’s first fire log from 1924-1928, which holds only a handful of pages reporting incidents – mostly grass fires. Today, Grandview firefighters complete 2,700 rounds a year, including paramedic services.
Battalion 50, led by Chief John Hovermale, started Emergency Medical Services (EMS) coverage in 1963. Full-service EMS began after Hovermale’s son, Todd, took over as chief and sent the first official medic truck into service in 1972.
“There was a delineation at that point between firefighters and paramedics.
ghfd truck and ambulance
There were firefighters and paramedics. Today, we all have to be both,” Harris says.
While the relationship between firefighters and paramedics has changed throughout time, Harris says when it comes down to it, a lot about the relationships in the station remains the same.
“If you talk to the retirees that are 80, 90 years old, they have the same problems. … Every time somebody leaves here a vacuum is created, and somebody takes that person’s place. It’s invariable, you know, and it’s always, always been the same,” Harris says. “We still put water on fire.”
A new era
The nature of the job continues to go through ups and downs – Captain Jason Kay notes the addition of bulletproof vests to the firefighters’ arsenal of gear, a significant change in his 22 years of service.
“I would have never thought in my wildest dreams that in 2023, that I myself, as a firefighter, would be issued a bulletproof vest of my own. In 2000 and 2001 that just wasn’t a thing, and now it’s just commonplace,” Kay says.
Harris’ father, who was a firefighter from 1979-2001, shares in Kay’s shock.
“I came home one night, and it was a rough night, and I had worn my bulletproof vest seven times,” Harris says. “He could not wrap his mind around that.”
Harris says the team has experienced shootings, stabbings and assault. While they might have bragged about their craziest calls early in their careers, Harris says they have a different perspective now.
original building
“You do carry stuff with you – if you have a bad run it carries with you forever. You’ll remember it all of a sudden sometime. You don’t want to give that to somebody else,” he says.
While the current firehouse holds a lot of history, ground broke in early October 2023 for a new facility to house the fire department along with the police department, city administration and city council.
According to Chief Greg Eisenacher, there will be a space in the lobby of the new firehouse to display the 1924 fire truck with a “museum-type layout.”
Although there’s much anticipation for the new facility, there have been updates to the original building over the years to improve the quality of life and health standards for the firefighters.
new building
“When we pull back in the firehouse after a fire, we’re dirty. We have the products of fire on us. We used to just go in the firehouse and sit down and eat dinner, maybe wash your hands, back in the day,” Eisenacher says. “Now we’ve realized that if you carry that around on your clothes and uniforms, that’s bad. So immediately off the firehouse is a room where you can change your clothes, take a shower, use a sauna if you want to get all these contaminants out of you, put on clean clothes.”
Unit Four
The old truck serves as a pillar of education for students during Fire Safety Month in October. The department often partners with Grandview Heights Schools and the Grandview Heights Public Library to show kids its origins.
“We have kids from the school look at the 1924 and then look at our newest truck, so it’s cool to see the perspective of an 8 or 9-year-old,” Kay says.
A group of retirees called Unit Four attended the groundbreaking for the new space. The group of 70-80-year-old men actively hold monthly lunches to catch up and relive their glory days.
“You just can’t turn that light switch off when you retire. You build those relationships because you work together for 24 hours a day, every third day. You spend a third of your life, and it becomes part of your DNA,” Eisenacher says.
The retirees of Unit Four are proud of their legacy, making this anniversary a special one. Even though Eisenacher has only been with the station since 2020, he says it’s a big deal to him.
“It’s been amazing to see (the department) reaching the 100-year anniversary, getting a new firehouse, getting a new fire truck, getting a new ambulance, it’s very well deserved and this is a special place. It really is,” Eisenacher says.
Jobs are a hot commodity
The department’s impact spreads far and wide, making it a popular career spot for aspiring firefighters.
new lobby ghfd
“We mean a lot to not only the city but this county,” Harris says. “To be around that long, and to still be going as strong as we are. People are jumping at the chance to come here and work from other departments – we get lateral transfers all the time.”
The department returns its community’s sentiment – after 100 years of service, Eisenacher is proud that the team is still going full steam ahead.
“When people call, we go out and help,” he says. “I don’t think I’ve heard any of our personnel say no when our community calls for something. We find a way to get it done or we get someone to do it if we can’t.”
Ava Huelskamp is a contributing writer at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
