It was a matter of convenience that in 1956, Goodrich businessman Emery Bennett joined the Atlas Township Fire Department.
Owner of Bennett TV and Appliance, located about a block from the township fire hall, the proximity made racing to a blaze easy.
‘Many times I’d put a sign on my door, ‘gone to a fire,? and lock up for a few hours,? said Bennett,75, who served on the department until 2000.
‘That’s how it was done back then’we were all volunteers who started out with no pay and eventually earned about $3 for a run. A lot has changed since then.?
Bennett is just one of hundreds that have served on the Atlas Township Fire Department, which will celebrate 70 years this fall.
According to Atlas Township Board of Trustees minutes on Nov. 11, 1939, a motion was made to call a public hearing for the purpose of organizing a fire department. A month earlier, the first fire truck was purchased from General Fire Truck Company of Detroit. At a cost of $3,888 a General Model 90c fire truck on a 1940, 1 1/2 ton Ford 95 horsepower chassis was purchased.
That same year, Burt Stanard was named the first Atlas Township Chief with Roy Mellon as assistant chief.
In May 1942, construction of the first fire hall in downtown Goodrich was approved at a cost of $1,653, with the property valued at $300. The building was completed in June 16, 1942.
Prior to construction of the fire hall, the fire truck was stored at the Stanard Seely Ford Garage 10195 Hegel Road (the site of Hempton’s Body Shop today). A new fire hall was constructed in the early 1990s, about two blocks from the original site at 8081 Clarence St.
Bennett said during the early years, the fire siren was triggered by the telephone operator located in downtown Goodrich.
‘It worked pretty good if the operator was not sleeping,? laughed Bennett. ‘Once the alarm was sounded, the volunteers were called on the phone one-by-one. Then you hoped someone went with you out to the fire. Sometimes we’d have two trucks with two firefighters.?
Bennett recalls many fires, including the Hill Farm house that was constructed with asbestos siding.
‘There was no insulation in that old house, so as it burned, nails heated up and shot out like a gun into the yard,? he said. ‘I remember dodging the nails as they came zinging out.?
Today, the Atlas Township Fire Department incorporates about 28 paid on-call firefighters with a fleet of six trucks. The department responds to about 160 calls per year in the township, said current Fire Chief Fred Forys.
‘We appreciate all the support the community has provided over the last 70 years and those who served this department,? he said. ‘The 1 mill for operations helps make this department what it is today.?
If anyone has more history of the Atlas Township Fire Department, contact Forys at 810-636-2723. Township resident Beth Forys contributed to this story.