Tulsa Fire Department
The Tulsa Fire Department is the fire department for the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma, serving approximately 400,000 citizens out of their 29 fire stations in an area of 201 square miles. The department was founded as a volunteer fire department on June 6, 1900, following a fire that broke out in Downtown Tulsa in 1897. The Tulsa Fire Department headquarters is located at 1760 Newblock Park Drive and the current fire chief is Michael Baker. History R. C. Alder (1900–1922) On June 6, 1900, the Tulsa Volunteer Fire Department was officially founded and R. C. Alder was elected fire chief for the city of Tulsa. In 1901, the fire department received its first alarm and responded to deployed hoses and water more effectively than ever before. The city council decided to pay for a chemical truck and start paying them for their response. The chemical truck was named "Old Soda Fountain" and saved multiple buildings while in service. In early 1905, Chief Alder was sent to Kansas City to choose some recruits and a horse team, leading to the first paid fire department in Tulsa. When the electric call boxes were installed around Tulsa it allowed the Tulsa Fire Department