Pharr Volunteer Fire Department

In July 1916, the same year voters incorporated the city of Pharr, a large fire laid waste to an entire downtown city block. As a result of the blaze, the community lost Pharr Lumber Co., Pharr Mercantile Co., Folsum Hardware Co., National Theatre and several other businesses. During that same era, National Guard troops were stationed in the area to combat incursions from revolutionary forces in Mexico. When the troops left at the beginning of World War I, they left behind hose reels that the community adopted as its first fire equipment. Judge L.J. Polk, Sr. and D. "Chief" Simmons led local residents in loosely organizing a group of 10 to 12 volunteers, and they directed citizen efforts in fighting fires. During the winter of 1921, the Pharr Volunteer Fire Department officially formed with J.E. Rogers as chief. During the next 10 years, the number of volunteers grew and the department organized into three companies: engine, chemical and hose. In 1928, the city comissioned assistant fire chief O.C. Brown to build the first fire station; a room in the rear of the building briefly served as city jail. Two years later, the fire department received a state charter. In the 1980s, as population grew in the Pharr, San Juan and Alamo area, a control room in the station enabled volunteers to respond to tri-city fire alarms. Citizens worked to preserve the original fire station when it faced demolition in 2001, and the city later built new facilities for the fire department. (2006)

Pharr Volunteer Fire Department is a historical marker in Pharr, Hidalgo County, dedicated in 2006. It is one of 138 historical markers documented in Hidalgo County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 221 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 26.1927, -98.1852 near Pharr. The nearest cataloged historic site is City of Pharr (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include First Pharr School, Old Pharr City Hall, and Kiwanis Club of Pharr.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5215013233. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.