Department History

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Old ladder truckThe Folsom Fire Department has a strong and proud heritage reaching back to the Gold Rush era of March 3, 1857, when a group of citizens formed the Folsom Hook and Ladder Company to protect the wooden buildings in Old Town Folsom. Early volunteers rushed to fire scenes when an alarm sounded. They fought fires by passing buckets of water from volunteer to volunteer (the bucket brigade) to get water from the source to the fire.

In the early 1900s, the fire department purchased a Ford Model T, replacing the horse-drawn water pumps. While the Model T is long gone, the City of Folsom still maintains two older fire trucks for parades and special functions.

That spirit of volunteerism has been passed on generation to generation within our membership and is seen today as Folsom Fire Department members serve our community in many diverse ways.