The current hot summer is an appropriate time to write about firefighters because of risks due to weather. Firefighters’ gear is hot in the winter and dangerously hot in summer when every 15 or 20 minutes firefighters must be replaced by a fresh team so they can hydrate and cool off before going back to fighting a blaze. A special rehab vehicle is an important part of keeping firefighters cool. In this column we are going to highlight the early history of the Alpharetta Fire Department which today is part of the Alpharetta Public Safety Department headed by John Robison.
The five fire departments in North Fulton County are Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Roswell and Sandy Springs. Each department has more than one location, and all departments help each other when there are major fires or other catastrophes. Alpharetta has six fire stations.
In the early 1940s, Alpharetta was a town of about 300 people and had no fire department. When a fire broke out, there was little to be done except to rely on ineffective bucket brigades. During World War ll, the Federal Office of Civil Defense donated some surplus firefighting equipment to the city so it could protect civilians in a war emergency. The equipment sat in the Milton County Courthouse unused. In 1944, two local businessmen, Ben and Loyal Brady, who owned a small Chevrolet dealership, gas station, repair shop and taxi business in downtown Alpharetta, worked with the local Civil Defense Council to access the stored equipment. The brothers bought a Dodge military truck for $200 from the Fort McPherson surplus yard in southwest Atlanta, today the location of Tyler Perry Studios. The truck was modified to accept a pump from the courthouse equipment. The brothers bought a 500-gallon water tank which Loyal welded onto the chassis. Hooks to hold ladders, a hose box, a siren and a coat of…
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