Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department

Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department The following article was narrated by George Schmidt the only founding member still active on this fire department with 35 years.

Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department was formed in 1975 with 30 members on the roster.The first engine was leased from Liberty Township Volunteer Fire Department for three years for $1.00 per year.We used one bay in the building to the east of the station(not built at this time) which is now Berkheimers.We broke ground in 1976 at 380 East State Road 2 which was donated by Indiana General

and this was the start of the new station.The station was built by Chesters and the interior was completed by members of the fire department.We started parking the engine in one bay at the end of summer 1976 and the interior was completed in spring of 1977.In 1977 the members built the first 2000 gallon tanker on a used Chevy chassis and aquired a 6 x 6 military chassis for the next tanker. We also aquired from the military a brush truck that was also built by the members of the department.In 1978 the department took delivery of a new 1977 Ford pumper built by Quality Manufacturing and was in service until 2005.In 1981 we took delivery of a 1980 Chevy Mini Pumper the first truck built by Hoosier Fire in Valparaiso.In 1989 we took delivery of a new 1988 GMC pumper built by Quality.In 1991 and 1992 we added five more truck bays to the station giving us a total of seven bays.In 1999 we took delivery of two used trucks,one custom cab seven man 1988 E-One Hurricane Pumper and a 2500 gallon tanker made by Becker and these are still in service.In 2005 we took delivery of our first new custom cab engine a Toyne with a Spartan cab which is our first out engine.We purchased in 2007 a new Ford Expedition Incident Command vehicle that is driven by the chief and a Ford F550 Lifestar Rescue Airvan with a six bottle 6000 psi fill system with containment.We just took delivery in 2010 of a Kenworth/Toyne 3000 gallon tanker.We still maintain a 30 to 35 member roster and are always looking for new members.

At tonight's IVFA District 1 meeting at Porter FD, Retired Firefighter/Paramedic Richard Stevens was given his 50 year g...
06/05/2026

At tonight's IVFA District 1 meeting at Porter FD, Retired Firefighter/Paramedic Richard Stevens was given his 50 year gold card and award from the State of Indiana. Rich is a lifetime member of Washington Township Volunteer Fire Department and spent 35 years as a medic in Porter County! Congratulations Sir!!!

Last week Washington Township and Cass-Clinton Firefighters completed our annual driving course, each member got to driv...
06/02/2026

Last week Washington Township and Cass-Clinton Firefighters completed our annual driving course, each member got to drive each piece of apparatus through the course while an instructor evaluated their skills. Preparing for the next call!

Congratulations to Washington Township Firefighter Zachary Stralnic for graduating from the Porter County Career and Tec...
06/02/2026

Congratulations to Washington Township Firefighter Zachary Stralnic for graduating from the Porter County Career and Technical Center Fire Academy along with the rest of his classmates. We're excited to have him on our department.

Thank you to The MAAC and all the instructors. "Preparing for the next call!"

Congratulations Washington Twp Firefighters Owen Gilbert and Cade Smith and the rest of their class on completing their ...
05/19/2026

Congratulations Washington Twp Firefighters Owen Gilbert and Cade Smith and the rest of their class on completing their EMT training. They put in over 4 months of classroom and clinical training. Thank you for your commitment to the department and the community!

Washington Fire gives thanks to all EMS professionals during EMS Week. Your knowledge, professionslism and compassion sa...
05/18/2026

Washington Fire gives thanks to all EMS professionals during EMS Week. Your knowledge, professionslism and compassion save lives every day. This week we celebrate ems professionals all over and are especially proud of the team we have here on Washington Fire. Out of our 35 Volunteer Firefighters, 19 are EMS certified and 4 more are in EMT class. Thank you for all you do!

FF Greg Adair - Paramedic
Lt. David Bittorf - Paramedic
FF Matt Mettenburg - Paramedic
Lt. Jeffrey Furst - EMT
FF Julia Furst - EMT
FF Ray Gorz - EMT
FF Ayden Malavolta - EMT
FF Alyssa Mettenberg - EMT
FF Jon Nguyen - EMT
Capt. Matt Preuss - EMT
Lt. Amy Putman - EMT
FF Jared Rolinski - EMT
AC Dwayne Tate - EMT
Lt. Nathan Calabrese - EMR
Capt. Larry Putman - EMR
FF Paul Ritchey - EMR
Capt. Jim Schergen - EMR
FF George Schmidt - EMR
FF Kristen Settele - EMR
FF Jeremy Spargur - EMR
FF Jess Edwards - EMT Student
FF Owen Gilbert - EMT Student
FF Bryce Sartin - EMT Student
FF Cade Smith - EMT Student

Congratulations to Washington Township Firefighter Jess Edwards, she was voted on as a regular member last night and giv...
05/06/2026

Congratulations to Washington Township Firefighter Jess Edwards, she was voted on as a regular member last night and given her badge! Jess started as a cadet with us when she was 16. She is a graduate of the Porter County Career and Technical Center Fire Academy and is getting ready to graduate from Valparaiso High School and EMT school. We're excited to have her on our team and excited to see what the future holds for her. Congratulations!

Last night Washington Fire got together with Valparaiso and Cass-Clinton (Wanatah) Fire Departments at the MAAC to do a ...
04/29/2026

Last night Washington Fire got together with Valparaiso and Cass-Clinton (Wanatah) Fire Departments at the MAAC to do a multi dept training on Water Supply. Everyone got a chance to go over Tanker Shuttle Operations, Drafting, Oasis Hydrant Assist Valves and Hose Advancement. It was also just a good opportunity for the firefighters to get to know each other. Thanks to Valparaiso and Cass-Clinton for coming out to train with us and as always a huge Thank You to the MAAC for providing a facility for us to train! Preparing for the next call!

Washington Twp Vol Fire Dept President George Schmidt was recognized Friday at the State House for his 50 years of servi...
04/28/2026

Washington Twp Vol Fire Dept President George Schmidt was recognized Friday at the State House for his 50 years of service. George is still one of the most active guys on our department and currently serves as the president of our department and an Engineer/EMR. He has been recognized for being a Top 5 responder for the last 10 years or more. George has served in every fire officer position on the department including several years as Fire Chief. Congratulations!

Monday night was a great reminder of why we do what we do.After just clearing from a mutual aid assist to Valpo Fire for...
04/16/2026

Monday night was a great reminder of why we do what we do.
After just clearing from a mutual aid assist to Valpo Fire for a structure fire, we had the pleasure of hosting Brownie Troop 35805 at the station. Despite a busy evening, our crew took the time to show them around, talk about fire safety, and give them a firsthand look at what we do every day.
The excitement and curiosity from the kids made it all worth it. To top off the visit, the girls were able to get hands-on experience and were assisted in flowing a firehose—definitely a highlight of the night!
Moments like this are a great opportunity to connect with our community and hopefully inspire the next generation.
Thank you to Troop 35805 for stopping by and for your patience while we handled the call. Stay safe everyone! 🚒🔥

Thank you to everyone at Porter County Central Dispatch for the professional job they do every day! We appreciate everyt...
04/13/2026

Thank you to everyone at Porter County Central Dispatch for the professional job they do every day! We appreciate everything you do!!! Porter County Central Communications (911)

Address

380 E State Road 2
Valparaiso, IN
46383

Telephone

+12194643015

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