Alameda Fire Department Marks 150 Years With Open House
Fire Station 1 on Park Street opened its doors for a free celebration of a department that started as a volunteer bucket brigade in 1876.
By The Alameda Pulse
The Alameda Fire Department marked its 150th anniversary with a free open house at Fire Station 1, 1300 Park Street in Alameda, CA, on Saturday, August 29, 2026. The department traces its roots to 1876, when it started as a volunteer bucket brigade.
- What: A free open house celebrating the department's 150th anniversary
- Where: Fire Station 1, 1300 Park Street, Alameda
- When: Saturday, August 29, 2026, 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- Who's behind it: The Alameda Fire Department, founded in 1876
- What happened: Antique fire truck displays, kids' water spray demos, free helmets and birthday cake
It's easy to drive past a fire station every day and never think about how long it's been there. This one's been serving Alameda, in one form or another, for a century and a half.
How did the Alameda Fire Department celebrate its 150th anniversary?
With a party residents could walk into off the street. The department opened Fire Station 1 for a few hours on a Saturday and filled the lot with antique fire apparatus, a color presentation from the Boy Scouts of America, and a Community Emergency Response Team info booth. Firefighters ran water spray demonstrations for kids, handed out free plastic fire helmets, and offered blood pressure screenings. Local 689, the firefighters' union, grilled hot dogs and hamburgers, and there was a birthday cake with group singing to close things out. It didn't cost residents anything to attend.
How long has the Alameda Fire Department been around?
Since 1876. It didn't start as the department Alameda has today. It began as a volunteer bucket brigade, the kind of neighbor-helping-neighbor setup that a lot of California towns relied on before cities could afford paid crews and real equipment. Over 150 years it grew into the full-service department that now handles fires, medical calls and disaster response across the island.
What this means for Alameda
Fire Chief Luby put it simply at the event: "This milestone belongs to every firefighter who has served this community over the past 150 years, and to the residents who have trusted us to protect them." That's the trade at the center of any fire department, a promise that gets renewed every time a truck rolls out of the station. A century and a half in, Alameda's crews are still making it.
If you missed the open house and want to learn more about the department's history or upcoming community events, you can reach the department's public information officer, Kevin Tidwell, at 510-566-4045 or firepio@alamedaca.gov. For more on the people and institutions that make Alameda run, check out our community news coverage, including how Alameda High's Kofman Auditorium marked its own century-plus milestone.
