The Highfill Fire Protection Association was organized in October of 1979, after many meetings with then Highfill Mayor Buster Sullivan about the possibility of a fire department in the town. With 22 volunteers and some donated trucks and equipment — a 300-gallon-capacity truck from the Benton County Rural Fire Protection Agency, another 300-gallon truck from the Arkansas Forestry Service and 50-f
eet of hose — the newly-formed fire department began serving the Highfill community — the entire area within a five-mile radius of the town. When the department responded to its first structure fire on Mason Valley Road, it couldn’t get close enough to the fire with its 50 feet of hose so firefighters extinguished it with a bucket brigade and had the fire out before the Bentonville Fire Department arrived on the scene. The first Highfill fire station went into service in 1980. It was built by volunteer labor and with materials purchased with money raised from community donations and numerous fundraising events, including pie and bake sales, yard sales, chili suppers and a turkey shoot. A barbecue chicken dinner was held in July of 1980 to celebrate the buildings near completion. Prior to the completion of the fire station, the department housed its first truck at a garage building owned by the Fire Protection Association’s president, Jerry Harwell. In 1980, the fire association reported 140 members, and annual fire dues were $25. By the time the new station was dedicated on July 19, the department had already responded to more than 25 fire calls and saved several homes. The department obtained its first fire gear, used, from California. Another truck — with a capacity of 1,160 gallons — was received from the Benton County Rural Fire Protection Association in September of 1980. The volunteer firefighters began training, taking courses ranging from basic firefighting and fire equipment use to cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Increasing its fire-fighting capabilities, the department added a 435-foot, 10-gallons-per-minute well at the fire station, using grant money received from the state and county. The Association bought its first truck — a 1961 Howe pump truck capable of pumping 750 gallons per minute — in 1985
During the 90s, the department acquired more trucks and added on to the fire station. Because the department could only afford gravel floors in the station, firefighters had to climb onto the hoods of their trucks to avoid wading through water to get in their trucks during rainy months. The town of Highfill began supporting the department in 2001 and helped complete a 50-by-95-foot fire station. The town assisted with other trucks and equipment purchases in the following years and in 2006 made the volunteer department a municipal entity, providing compensation for calls and retirement benefits for firefighters. The Highfill Fire Department is no longer the fledgling organization it once was. Today it boasts 30 firefighters, two fire stations (including the substation in Springtown) and seven fire trucks. The department has personnel trained in almost every aspect of firefighting and emergency response, including firefighter I and II, hazardous materials, vehicle extrication, rapid intervention rescue, swift-water rescue, and emergency medical training. The Highfill Fire Department has continued to grow and expand with most recently adding onto the existing fire station creating living quarters for future full time personnel and housing an ALS Northwest Ambulance 24/7. Over the department’s history, 19 of its volunteer members have gone on to become full-time firefighters at other departments with many still volunteering their services in Highfill. Many of the current firefighters grew up watching their fathers, relatives and friends spend countless hours in training to help and protect their community.
