William Edwin “Eddie” Andes
Founding Fire Chief, 1942
The Founding · March 3, 1942
A firehouseforged from grit.
The department’s first fire engine was actually hand built by its first Fire Chief and Founder William Edwin “Eddie” Andes, with salvaged vehicle parts and a lot of ingenuity.
There was no budget for a new rig. So Eddie Andes built one. From a downtown shop on East Main Street, a small band of local citizens turned salvaged parts into Remington’s first fire engine, then bought a used 1927 Brockway for fourteen hundred dollars once they could scrape it together.
That do it yourself spirit never left. Just like today, all of the department’s trucks and equipment are purchased with funds raised by the department. Eight decades on, the local fire station is still the hub of community life in Remington.
1942Founded March 3. First firehouse on East Main Street. Chief Andes hand builds the first engine.
1952Rescue added. The first ambulance arrives and the department becomes Fire and Rescue.
1967Community steps up. The Remington Lions Club donates a new ambulance.
2009Room to serve. A major addition opens June 27: nine apparatus bays, training rooms and bunk rooms.