Dayton suffered two devastating fires in the early decades of the 20th century, the first in 1913 on Railroad Avenue, known today as Depot Street, and the second in 1929 on the same block, where many lumber-built businesses were burned or damaged and many of the same rebuilt buildings were later destroyed again. With no fire department in place during those years, the need for one became clear. Dayton City Council passed ordinances governing fire zones in 1927 and 1929, made J.V. Lawrence Manager of the City Water Works in 1929, and voted that year to purchase a fire truck. By April 3, 1930, Lawrence had been named Fire Chief, and at later meetings he was referred to as Fire Marshal until Tom Collins was elected Fire Chief by the firefighter volunteers, who were often called the fire boys in Council minutes. The Dayton Volunteer Fire Department held fund raisers to obtain needed equipment and help pay for trucks, first operated from a lean-to building on Bryan Street with a complete kitchen and small living quarters, and moved truck and equipment storage from place to place with help from the City. In 1937, a combination City Hall and Fire Station was built facing Church Street, with two fire truck bays on the north side facing Cook Street, and it served the City until the 1970s. In 1974, the J.D. Hunnicutt Family donated two lots for a new station, and after a January 16, 1975 motion to deed the Fire Department lot in Block 4, lots 9 and 10, to the City for construction, one lot was sold to Bell Telephone Company to help equip the new building. The new station was built on the remaining lot at the corner of Winfree and Cook Streets, approved for occupancy by April 10, 1975, and opened to the public on June 1, 1975. Over the decades, many volunteers served this organization with distinction.