Fire prevention

Scope and Contents The collection documents the actions and activities of the Boise Fire Department including its administration, operations, union, and staff. The records consist of correspondence, meeting minutes and agendas, agreements, plans, annual reports, newspaper articles, maps, position descriptions, employment examinations, policies and procedures, budget summaries, historical research and commemorative event documentation, oral histories, training manuals, union labor agreements, fundraising...

Abstract In an interview with Alicia Martin-Cowger on September 21, 2010, Eugene Hatch discusses his career with the Boise Fire Department. Topics discussed in the interview: beginning as a volunteer at the newly created Collister Fire Department; joining the BFD in 1956; the first big fire he went to at the Boise Little Theatre; training on the job; differences between the men he started working with and those he managed later in his career; the daily routine at the fire station; memorable fires;...

Abstract In his interview with Alicia Martin-Cowger on June 18, 2010, Harold “Flub” Marker, who served with the Boise Fire Department for 32 years, offered his memories of his career. Marker’s career as a firefighter began at Wendover Air Base after serving three years in the Army in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. He spoke on the following topics: how he got hired at BFD; some of the pranks pulled on each other; the origins of his nickname; memorable fires he fought including at The Mode...

Abstract In an interview with Alicia Martin-Cowger on September 9, 2010, Renn Ross discusses his career with the Boise Fire Department. Ross was hired in 1978; he served as chief from 1992 until his retirement in 2007. Topics discussed in the interview: beginning his career with BLM as a wildland firefighter and volunteer firefighter with the Star Fire District; the hiring process; the push to diversify the department; new recruit training; the daily routine at the fire station; the first fire he...

Abstract In his interview with Alicia Martin-Cowger on June 24, 2010, William “Bill” Hoobing, who served with the Boise Fire Department, offered his memories of his career as a firefighter. Hoobing’s career as a firefighter began after serving in the South Pacific during World War II. He joined his father on the Boise Fire Department after being discharged from the Marine Corps in 1946. He spoke on the following topics: memories of visiting his dad at the fire station as a kid; the lack of testing to...