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Sunshine and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 71F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph..

Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low 38F. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.

Ten of the original 13 Derby volunteer firefighters are shown above, left to right, including Denton York, Harold “Swede” Sorensen, Chet Smith (elected first Fire Chief by the other 12 members), W.R. “Bill” Austin, LaVerne Kanaga, Sam Austin, Marion Mattox, Darrell Butterfield, Lloyd Higbee (honorary) and Charles Rosberry (elected Assistant Chief). Not pictured: John Stewart, Fred Kersting, Ray Conrad and Leon Rollins.

Volunteer firefighter Chuck Fields is shown responding to the scene of a fire. Fields volunteered with the department for 50 years before retiring in 2011.

Derby volunteer crews work to put out a grass fire – with the department relying fully on volunteers until transitioning to a paid department in 2005.

Ten of the original 13 Derby volunteer firefighters are shown above, left to right, including Denton York, Harold “Swede” Sorensen, Chet Smith (elected first Fire Chief by the other 12 members), W.R. “Bill” Austin, LaVerne Kanaga, Sam Austin, Marion Mattox, Darrell Butterfield, Lloyd Higbee (honorary) and Charles Rosberry (elected Assistant Chief). Not pictured: John Stewart, Fred Kersting, Ray Conrad and Leon Rollins.

Volunteer firefighter Chuck Fields is shown responding to the scene of a fire. Fields volunteered with the department for 50 years before retiring in 2011.

Derby volunteer crews work to put out a grass fire – with the department relying fully on volunteers until transitioning to a paid department in 2005.

Dedication, determination hallmarks of Derby Fire Department’s history

The Derby Volunteer Fire Department, formed in 1952, laid a solid foundation for the city’s Fire and Rescue Department, which is closing in on its 70th anniversary in October.

The initial 13 members of the DVFD elected Chet Smith, Derby butcher and grocer, as the first fire chief – a position he held until his death in 1978.

“He (Smith) and a lot of those first volunteers were community leaders – a lot of them veterans who had grown up and started businesses here – and were instrumental in making the city grow,” retired Derby Fire Chief Pat Swaney recalled.

Two more classes of volunteers were trained in the mid-50s, and by the end of the decade the roster reflected names still associated with Derby today: Smith, Charles Roseberry, Samuel Austin, W.R. (Bill) Austin, Darrell Butterfield, Ray Conrad, LaVerne Kanaga, Fred Kersting, Marion Mattox, Leon Rollins, Harold (Swede) Sorensen, John Stewart, Denton York, Odas (Odie) Austin, Joe Gasaway, Lee Gilliland, Wesley Hildebrand, James Human, Duane Kanaga, Frank Leonard, Melvin McCluggage, Gerald Miller, Sheldon Mohr, Wilbert (Willie) Nelson, Alvin Parks, Charles Roseberry Jr., Max Simonsen, Ward (Junior) States, and Charles (Chuck) Fields, a Wichitan who moved to Derby with prior U.S. Navy and Civil Defense emergency training.

In addition to leadership and stability, these members provided several second- and third-generation firefighters and future leaders of the department for decades to come.

The small portable water pump and surplus fire hose provided with the initial Civil Defense training got the department going, but with community support and lots of creative workmanship, the department ended the decade with equipment including:

· Truck No. 1 – A 1947 dump truck volunteers built and refitted with a 400-gallon water tank, ladder racks, hose bed, tool storage and pump. It served the front line and later as a reserve engine until 1990.

· Truck No. 2 – A 1956 pumper that served until 1994, then was converted to a utility/rescue vehicle that served until 2006.

· Derby 13 – Specially designed and built to fight fires in rural areas, it was retired in 2008 and given to the Derby Public Works Department for a Park Maintenance department water truck.

· An E&J resuscitator, a portable device that forced oxygen into the lungs. DVFD used it in emergency situations until the “ambulance” at that time – a hearse from Senter Mortuary in Mulvane – responded and took the victim to the hospital.

The volunteer department kept pace with Derby’s growth during the next four decades, maintaining a membership of well-rounded skills and talents under the next three member-elected fire chiefs: Samuel Austin (1979-1985), Max Simonsen (1985) and Pat Swaney (1985-2005).

For most of the years, DVFD firefighters were separated and assigned to one of the two main front-line engines, each structured with one captain and three lieutenants elected by members.

New member training – initially provided by Civil Defense – moved to the Wichita Fire Department, Sedgwick County Fire Department, and finally to DVFD members. In addition to comprehensive initial training, volunteer firefighters had monthly drill nights on specific subjects, annual week-long training from K-State Extension Department circuit instructors, and specialized training as services and equipment were added.

A six-bay fire station with a training room and office for the chief was built in 1988, housing all the fire apparatus in one place for the next 14 years.

When Derby Fire Station No. 2 opened on north Rock Road in 2002, it included space for lockers and bunks for future paid crews.

“We were having trouble keeping enough people in town during the day to adequately deal with a large fire,” Swaney said. “Most large fire departments run medical and our ambulance service was merging into Sedgwick County, so we didn’t have that fire first response to medical.”

Swaney said the DVFD knew as the city grew and developed it “needed to go into paid service,” so the volunteer fire fighters made the case to the Derby City Council to consider a paid fire department. The council ultimately selected the proposal for Derby to manage its own department over proposals from the Wichita and Sedgwick County fire departments, and in December 2004 Fire Chief Brad Smith was hired to develop policies and job descriptions. DVFD Chief Swaney stayed on as the Assistant Fire Chief over the 34 volunteers during the transition.

Chief John Turner replaced Chief Smith, who retired in 2019 at the opening of Fire Station 81 at Madison and Woodlawn.

Today, the Derby Fire and Rescue Department has two engines staffed 24/7, a reserve engine, a quint (combination fire engine/truck), rescue vehicles, offroad squads, and a water rescue boat. About 60 percent of the department’s calls are medical and 40 percent fire or other, such as rescue or hazardous material.

And the department’s 27 full-time and 12 part-time paid staff are supported, Chief Turner says, “by a lot of high caliber volunteers.”

In conjunction with the department’s 70th anniversary, a special event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Derby Historical Museum and Hubbard Arts Center. It will celebrate “Seven Decades of Service” and have some of the department’s historical artifacts on display – as well as a number of special presentations throughout the day.