PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FIFE HISTORY MUSEUM

The Fife Historical Society is honoring past volunteer firefighters at an open house Aug. 18.

Museum to honor firefighters at open house

By Staff Writers

The Fife Historical Society will pay homage to past Fife volunteer firefighters at an open house on Aug. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Fife History Museum.

A brief program will begin at 7:30 p.m. with the confirmed speakers for the program being Mayor Barry Johnson, Jim Merritt, Frank Schnider, and Jeff Jensen. All former volunteer firefighters who served with the Fife Volunteer Fire Department are encouraged to attend this event with family members.

The newest exhibit at the Fife History Museum honors the volunteer firefighters who came together to form the first fire department in Fife 60 years ago. The firefighters would gather each Monday evening at 7:30 p.m. for their regular meetings. A siren would sound at the station for 90 seconds reminding the community of this weekly gathering.

The city of Fife incorporated in 1957, but it is the men who served as firefighters and the women who served as Sparkettes who contributed greatly to preserving the community of Fife. Prior to its incorporation, the city of Tacoma was quite interested in annexing a portion of the area that is inside Fife’s boundaries.

At the Aug. 12 meeting of the Fife City Council, Mayor Johnson and his fellow council members presented Schnider with a proclamation designating Aug. 18 as a day to celebrate and honor the former Fife Volunteer Firefighters.

Schnider is the only surviving member of the original 25 firefighters, and he was also one of Fife’s first city council members. Jensen is a deputy chief with the Tacoma Fire Department. He graduated from Fife High School in 1973 and began his career in fire fighting as a volunteer with the Fife Fire Department. Merritt is the son of Paul “Bud” Merritt, who was the first official fire chief of the Fife Volunteer Fire Department. Jim Merritt is a well-known architect in Tacoma and a graduate of Fife High School.

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