Explore the people, services, and milestones that shaped today's Baraboo Area Fire and EMS District.
Baraboo's fire and ambulance story stretches from leather buckets and horse-drawn equipment to a single, modern emergency-response district. These are a few of the moments that shaped it.
1884
The Baraboo Fire Department was formed in 1884 as a 30-member force. Contemporary records valued the department at $3,000 and listed annual expenses of $700, marking the shift from leather-bucket brigades to an organized city service.
BARABOO FIRE DEPARTMENT TRIVIA1886
Phoenix Hose Company No. 1 was organized on December 30, 1886. Early crews answered a steam-whistle alarm and moved hose carts and a hook-and-ladder wagon by hand or horse.
ABOUT BARABOO — DIRECT PDF1993
The Baraboo District Ambulance Service (BDAS) was created in 1993 as a cooperative emergency medical service. A commission of municipal representatives governed its shared operations.
CONSOLIDATION STUDY2020
The BDAS Commission approved a move into the BFD building at 135 4th Street. Sharing the station created more room for ambulance operations and made day-to-day collaboration easier.
2020 NEWS REPORTJanuary 1, 2023
After a public consolidation study and local planning, the partner municipalities approved a joint district. The Baraboo Area Fire and EMS District (BAFED) began operations on January 1, 2023.
CITY COUNCIL PACKETThe new district carried forward the BFD's long fire-service tradition and the BDAS district ambulance service model. Today, BAFED serves the City of Baraboo, Village of West Baraboo, and the towns of Baraboo, Fairfield, and Greenfield, while also providing contracted emergency medical services to the Town of Excelsior.
Watch this historical film about Baraboo's fire-service story and the community it has served.
Presented by Paul Wolter. Video courtesy of the Sauk County Historical Society.
Watch on YouTube
FROM BUCKET BRIGADES TO BAFED
1861
Property owners and village leaders expanded fire protection with large cisterns, a courtyard pump, and a hook-and-ladder company equipped with 200 buckets, hooks, ladders, and a truck. George Gollmar built one cistern with a capacity of roughly 300 to 400 barrels.
1871–78
The 1871 fire destroyed six frame buildings on Third Avenue and another on Oak; volunteers fought it with buckets, wet blankets, and even snowballs. Major fires on Fourth Street in 1872 and Oak Street in 1878 consumed more wood-frame blocks. Crews tore down nearby buildings as firebreaks, and the rebuilding that followed gave downtown much of its lasting masonry character.
1899
By 1899, Baraboo supported two hose companies and a hook-and-ladder company, backed by 12 miles of water mains and 112 hydrants.
1902
A spark from the July 4 fireworks display smoldered until early the next morning, when a major mill fire threatened surrounding parts of the city before firefighters contained it.
1904–06
The courthouse burned during extreme cold in 1904, the opera house was lost in 1905, and the high school burned in 1906—three difficult incidents in quick succession.
1912
Before motorization, coded blasts from the “Goose Neck” steam whistle identified the ward where help was needed. The first horse team to reach the station earned $5 and the second $2.50; once movies arrived, theaters flashed a number on screen so firefighters in the audience knew to report.
1913–14
With horse teams increasingly difficult to secure, the city ordered a locally built motorized truck from Dr. Helm. The twin-chain-drive apparatus carried a 50-gallon chemical tank, ladders, and hose, marking the transition away from horse-drawn response.
1918
A new motorized hook-and-ladder rig expanded the department’s reach and equipment-carrying capacity as Baraboo modernized its fire protection.
1924
Baraboo firefighters assembled with a motorized engine in front of the station.
1936
A fire at the Carnegie-Schadde Memorial Public Library forced the building to close for roughly three months while damage was repaired.
1950
The First Ward School burned on December 18, 1950, after an alarm at 11:50 a.m. in subzero weather.
1959
The apparatus bay shown in this circa-1959 photograph remains part of today’s Fire/EMS station. The building immediately south was replaced in 1966 by the structure now attached to the bays, and the former Wisconsin Bell building—whose construction date is unknown—was also incorporated into the station. Together, these connected buildings once housed City Hall, the Police Department, and the fire station. Although their appearance has changed over time, the aging infrastructure continues to create daily operational challenges.
1961
1963
A vintage Baraboo engine carries participants through a downtown parade.
1969
A cutting torch used during equipment removal is believed to have ignited the vacant Island Woolen Mill on March 17, 1969. Firefighters contained the blaze to the central complex in about 90 minutes; the surviving office later became the Sauk County History Center.
1970
Historic apparatus returns to the downtown streets with firefighters and spectators.
1979
Responders carry a patient through the rocky terrain at Devil’s Lake.
1982
The restored City of Baraboo fire bell was unveiled at the municipal building. The plaque records that the bell entered service in 1892 and dedicates it to the volunteers who gave their time to protect and serve the Baraboo area.
1985
Department members came together for the 1985 Smelt Feed, building the camaraderie that supports their work on every call.