Grant E. Dicke Fire Station

Grant E. Dicke Fire Station. After fires broke out at the Dicke Tool Company in 1903 and 1911, the Dicke family became interested in improving the fire department. In July of 1927 a special bond issue was passed to provide $20,000 to build a fire station. On October 24, 1927, a ground breaking ceremony took place on land owned by the Dicke family at 1110 Warren Avenue for the first Downers Grove fire station, known as Station #1. In attendance was Sam Hoffert (1860-1932), the oldest fireman in the village and the first Fire Chief of Downers Grove. He was given the honor of turning the first shovel of dirt because of his long and faithful service to the fire department. , , The new building housed the fire department's first motorized pumper, a 359 GPM White, which was purchased in 1920. The pumper had previously been housed in the Hawkins' garage at Main and Grove where cars had to be moved in order to get the pumper out. In 1928 the department purchased another truck, its first ladder truck, a Seagrave 750 GPM and it was also housed here. , , Station #1 was Downers Grove's only station until Station #2 was built at Main and Summit in 1953. On July 29, 1961 Station #1 was renamed the Grant E. Dicke Station in recognition of Grant's fifty years of service to the Fire Department. He joined the department at age 18 in 1911 and served until 1967. , , In 1975 Station #1 was closed and a new Grant E. Dicke Station was built at 2500 Wisconsin Avenue. Grant E. Dicke died in 1977 and that same year the land around the original fire station was purchased to build Oak Tree Towers. Subsequent owners have preserved the original structure to honor this piece of Downers Grove's past.