Humble Beginnings

On October 15, 1961, residents of North Zulch gathered to form their volunteer fire department.  Officers were immediately elected: Joe Marks, Chairman; A.C. Bethke, Secretary-Treasurer; Henry Wilson, Donations Chairman; Carl H. Boenigk, Publicity; George Dalton Rush, Fundraising Chairman. Their first goal was clear: acquire a fire truck. The Normangee Fire Department planned to sell its 1946 Ford truck, and North Zulch set its sights on purchasing it for $1,000.  

On November 4, 1961, the Normangee VFD brought the 1946 truck to North Zulch for a demonstration. Residents lined the road, a quarter mile south of town, on FM 39 to see the equipment in action. The demonstration was more than technical—it was symbolic. The sight of water spraying from hoses reassured families that fire could be fought effectively with the right tools. 

The truck was equipped with a reconditioned motor, hoses, ladders, and a 650-gallon water tank. Normangee VFD also donated a town alarm siren, and later, the telephone company agreed to install fire phones in local businesses to ensure someone would always be available to answer and sound the town alarm. The siren was sounded daily at noon, except Sundays, to test readiness and reassure the community.  

By January 1962, the department had secured enough funds to purchase the truck and to buy Dud Keefer’s dirt-floor garage for $600, thereby providing the community with its first fire station. The department answered its first alarm on March 29, 1962. By April 1962, a dedicated fire telephone, phone number EX9-2121, had been installed at three businesses, with backup at the home of telephone operator Mrs. Myrtle Lang. 

Between 1966 and 1971, the VFD was primarily dormant, confronted with typical midlife challenges: aging equipment, parts shortages, volunteer attrition, and funding pressures.  

In September 1972, the community met and reorganized the department. While the 1946 truck was still barely operable, the reorganized department acquired its first factory-new fire truck—a 1972 Dodge one-ton — thanks to Jack Crocker’s connections at Stanley Motors. Volunteers Crocker, Leonard Folsom, and Parmer Donaho equipped the truck with lights, a CB radio, and a water tank. Though the pump engine required a rope start, the truck represented a significant leap forward in firefighting capability. 

Since that time, the department has expanded the original station, added apparatus, and undertook a multi-year fundraising effort to build a new fire station. The first phase of that building project was completed Fall 2024, with a 60 x 90 apparatus bay that allowed us to move all of our trucks indoors and out of the weather. We are now dispatched by the Madison County Sheriff's Department and communicate on a trunked digital radio system as part of the Brazos Valley Wide Area Communications System. 

We currently have 20 active members and 9 Auxiliary members who volunteer their time and talents to the community of North Zulch, Texas