Establishment of Rural Fire District (1870 Bull City Kansas 1995 Alton)

Located at: 614 Mill Street, Alton, Kansas

In January of 1990 Karl Boland, Tony Dibble, and Scott Ballard started organizing the circulation of petitions to start a rural fire district. Petition carriers were Steve Arnold, Kenneth Bates, Donald Boland, Ray and Elda Boland, Kenneth Bartholomew, Scot Eldon Hartzler, Larry Nichols, Wallace Murphy, Forrest Stanfield, and D. L. Ebb.

    The petition was approved by the Osborne County Commissioners May 21, 1990. Commissioners appointed Karl Boland, Forrest Stanfield, Rodney Boland, D. L. Webb, Kenneth Bates, Eldon Hartzler and Larry Nichols to be board members of the Osborne County R.F.D. #3 stationed in Alton. The city of Alton petitioned into the rural district which took in Grant, Hawkeye, Sumner and the western part of Tilden. Eldon Hartzler took on the Fire Chief position with Karl Boland and Tony Dibble being Assistant Chiefs.

    The Alton Rural Fire board received a Community Development Block Grant (C.D.B.G.), Sarver Grant, and No Fund Warrants to build a 48"X48" 3 bay Fire Station on the lots north of the old Corner Grocery building donated by the City of Alton. The station was started in October of 1991 and the CDBG project was closed in December of 1992. Firemen and other volunteers donated time and energy into the building of the station which held the cost down to just over $42,000.

    The city of Alton donated their 1956 Pumper and the board acquired a 1952 Forestry 6X6 from Luray which had a 2400 gallon tank and pump. In July of 1991 a 3/4 4X4 was purchased and the firemen fixed it up with a forestry 200 gallon side-in pump unit for a grass unit. In 1994 the northern part of Mt. Ayr Township and western part of Kill Creek petitioned into the Alton Rural District #3 to arrive at our present boundaries. 

    The Alton Rural Fire District #3 fought their first official fire on Monday, November 5, 1990 at 1:30 pm. The fire was located a mile east of Alton.