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History

The Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District had its beginnings in 1904, when twenty-four citizens signed the roster as volunteer firemen and A. Thompson was unanimously selected as the Fire Chief.  The committee on apparatus was instructed to purchase fifty feet of hose and two nozzles. B.W. Feldmeyer offered to give space for the erection of a hose cart house at the rear of his brick building and Mr. Thompson was instructed to begin construction of a hose cart immediately.  Early equipment consisted of two hand pulled chemical carts and a hand pulled hose reel. One of the chemical carts is still in the possession of the fire department and is on display at the Geyserville Fire Station.

Old fire department photo

The first fire station was a small building erected at the corner of Geyserville Ave and Hwy 128.  It had a bell on a tower, which was rung to call the volunteers in case of a fire. That same bell can still be seen on display at Geyserville Fire Station.  In 1920, Harold Sullivan became the fire chief; he later went on to be the chief in Healdsburg for many years. In the mid-1920s the May Day festival was started at the Hoffman Grove for the purpose of raising funds to purchase a fire engine. A Model A chassis for the first engine was purchased in about 1931. The body of the engine was built at A. Lampson & Sons Garage by J.L. Chittenden, Everett Lampson, J.B. Dickson, Aldo Lombardi and others. The first firehouse for that engine was Oscar Teaby’s blacksmith shop next to the Odd Fellows Hall.  With the advent of motorized fire apparatus, the Geyserville volunteers saw their area expand south to Lytton, east to include the rest of the Alexander Valley, north to Asti and west to cover the upper half of the Dry Creek Valley.

Old firehouse in downtown Geyserville construction

The 1950s saw several major changes in the Department. In 1950 a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce was held to reorganize the department, add more members, and to elect a Board of Commissioners. Leo Beers was elected Chief, L.C. Smith and Leslie Meyer assistant chiefs, and Everett Lampson, Bates Dickson, Harvy Rose and J.L. Chittenden commissioners. In 1953 the Model A engine and $500 was traded for a 1941 Ford Navy Crash Truck from the King City Naval Air Station. This engine was in-service until the early 1990s. 

In 1958 a site for a new fire station in Geyserville was purchased from George Remmel. Plans were drawn up and a cinder block structure was built in the mid-1960s with volunteer labor. A second building behind the station was built in 1989.

In 1975 the Geyserville Volunteer Fire Department took in the boundaries of the Alexander Valley School District and formed the Alexander Valley Division of the Geyserville Volunteer Fire Department.  Though it was part of the Geyserville Volunteer Fire Department, the Alexander Valley Division had its own fire chief and roster of volunteers.  Eugene Saini was the Fire Chief of the Alexander Valley Division.  The fire station was in Russel Greene’s barn across from the Alexander Valley school and was later moved to Truman Clark’s property at the intersection of Highway 128 and Alexander Valley Road.  The siren was on top of Goodyear’s hay barn.  Alexander Valley Division’s first engine was a 1956 International pumper-taker from Ventura County which held 1400 gallons of water.  It was destroyed in 1976 in a fire-related accident on Ida Clayton Road that also injured firefighter Dale Goode. The second apparatus was a 1941 Ford truck from Frank Palmer and Eddie Demoscene.  In 1989, after many years of auctions and fundraisers, the Andrews Fire House was built and dedicated near the intersection of Highway 128 and Alexander Valley Road, where it stands today.

To report an emergency, there were four phones- Lampson’s Tractor, Mickey’s Bar, and the residences of both Carrie Robertson and Lucille Rose.  After receiving report of an emergency, the siren would be activated to alert the volunteers.

In 1996 the Geyserville Volunteer Fire Department became the Geyserville Fire Protection District. The first District board of directors consisted of Paul Bernier, Tim Barnard, Robert Stewart, Michael Pigoni, and Fred Peterson.  Dean Turbeville was the Fire Chief and Eugene Saini became Assistant Chief.

A third fire station, the Dry Creek Valley Fire Station, was built in 2001.  In 2004, after purchasing additional land adjoining the fire station, the District began construction of a new 12,000 square foot fire station in Geyserville.  In September 2005 construction was complete on the current Geyserville Fire Station.

In 2018 the District started a Wildland Fuels Crew with grant money to reduce wildfire risk by reducing vegetation alongside roadways.  In 2019 three full-time firefighters were hired to bring year-round staffing up to two.

Knights Valley fire apparatus with firefighters

In 2019 the District changed its name to Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District and annexed the Knights Valley Fire Company.   The Knights Valley Fire Company has is own unique hisotry, beginning in 1964. The fire department was created after the Hanley Fire of 1964, which took a similar path as the Tubbs Fire of 2017.  The original fire board consisted of Frank Strabel, Veronica Macfall, Al Lafranchi, and four others.  John Rolleri was the first fire chief of the Knights Valley Volunteer Fire Company.  In 1978 August Grube became the second fire chief of the Knights Valley Volunteer Fire Company.  He remained the chief until the fire department was annexed by Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District in 2019.  The current firehouse on Spencer Lane was built in the mid-1970s, after Rosemary and Howard Jackson donated one acre to the fire department.   Prior to that, apparatus was stored on the Clegg Ranch and the Jackson Ranch. In 2010 the Knights Valley Fire Company board was reduced from seven to five members.   At the time of annexation, four members of the Knights Valley Fire Company (August Grube, Robert Pochini, Richard Sereni, and Scott Newman) became active members of the Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District.

FIRE CHIEFS

1904 -  ?            A. Thompson

1920 - 1931       Howard Sullivan

1931 - 1950       J. Bates Dickson

1950 - 1975       Leo “Slim” Beers

1975 - 1989       Ray Pigoni

1989 - 1992       Richard Dilworth

1992 - 2003       Dean Turbeville

2003 - 2013       Paul Pigoni

2013 - Present  Marshall Turbeville

Firehouse reunion group photo
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