The University of North Texas was founded in Denton, a town that was largely built of wood and had a long history of fires. Denton endeavored to deal with the problem by replacing wood with brick and organizing a Fire Department in 1874. The firefighters were volunteers who were equipped with buckets and a hand drawn hook and ladder wagon which was added in 1876. Between 1880 and 1882, cisterns were installed on each side of the square to collect the runoff from the surrounding buildings. The water was intended to only be used to fight fires.

The first fire station opened in 1882 on the north-west corner of North Locust and McKinney Streets. The equipment included a new La France steam fired engine which was pulled by two horses. The engine burned coal to produce the steam that “threw” the water as far as 120 feet high.

In 1890, the same year UNT was founded, Denton purchased a former grocery store on the north side of Oak Street between Cedar and Bolivar Streets. The structure was altered to provide office space for the city government, a jail, and a fire station. This arrangement would continue until 1928.

In 1891, UNT opened its first building on campus, the Normal Building, a brick and stone building. The following year the city replaced the cisterns with proper water connections (standpipe, fire plugs, etc.). The Denton Water, Light, and Power Company, a private firm, started the powerhouse pump.

In 1907, lightning struck the Normal Building. The advancements in water pressure and firefighting had not made it out to the campus, and the building burned down. The loss prompted the school to start its own fire company. The manager of the Athletic Department and chief of the city fire department worked together to create the Independent Volunteer Fire Company.  Forty-five male students made up the new company. They worked with a hundred feet of hose, nozzles and wrenches donated by the city.  

The first officers listed for the Normal College Volunteer fire company were: J. B. Jackson, chief; J. T. Milam, first assistant; F. A. Ashmore, second assistant; R. B. Bigham, secretary; G. F. Wimberly, assistant secretary and treasurer.

The Normal College firefighters fought fires at several boarding houses (Sigler, Simmons, and Ball), the High School, and the Cottage Hotel. The school yearbook, the Yucca, noted that during first year that the student firefighters responded to around eight fires. By the second year, they ran to help fight up to twelve fires.

The first proposal made to establish a fire station on the city’s west side was submitted in 1913. It was noted that since the Normal Building burned down around twenty-three fires had broken out in the surrounding area with only one building saved. The lack of water pressure was identified as the primary problem. This was the same year that the Denton Fire Department hired college students to supplement their force. The students were expected to participate in firefighting whenever they were not in class. They were trained in the same manner as other beginner firefighters. For their efforts they received a salary and had room and board in the fire stations.

Denton built two substations in 1930. One was located near the campus, at 117 Avenue B.

During World War II, as men were called up to serve in the war, the Department of Civil Defense hosted a course at the college to teach women to fight fires.

The hiring of students to serve as firefighters for the Denton Fire Department ended in 1967. A student firefighter, Kenneth Kramer, died on June 14 after being buried by a collapsed wall of the Kimbell-Diamon Milling Company. He was 21 years old. The remaining student firefighters on the force were transferred to the Central Fire Station to work in dispatching.

The growth of the City of Denton and the University of North Texas has been intertwined, especially in firefighting. Students stepped up to protect their campus and the surrounding community. Their work as volunteers and paid firefighters provided them with community involvement, positions of responsibility, and funds to continue their educations.

The men of the Independent Volunteer Fire Company pose with their hoses in the 1909 Yucca.

The Independent Volunteer Fire Company, 1910 Yucca.

The Independent Volunteer Fire Company poses in front of the Science Building with President Bruce (second in on the right).

1916 Yucca ran a picture of the company and the members’ names.

When men were leaving to fight in World War II, women stepped in to work as volunteer firefighters. This photo shows women participating in a training drill.

Kenneth Kramer, a sophomore, is seen in the 1966 Yucca.

The Normal Building, the first building on the University of North Texas campus.