Midfield Fire & Rescue Service
The Midfield Fire & Rescue Service is the firefighting and medical rescue service for the City of Midfield.
The department was created in the 1950s as an expansion of the Midfield Police Department under chief James W. Morris. He recruited volunteer firefighters to share space at the department's newly-renovated building on the corner of Woodward Road and Midfield Street, opposite Midfield City Hall. By 1968 the city owned two fire trucks.
When Midfield was brought under the Personnel Board of Jefferson County in 1971, the city was forced hire police officers separately from firefighters. Morris continued to lead both departments as Midfield's Public Safety Director. When a new City Hall was completed, the older building was converted into a new police and fire station.
In 1976 Winfred Jackson was elected Mayor on a platform of constructing a new fire station in Fairfield Highlands. Midfield Highlands Fire Station was constructed on the corner of 9th Avenue and 9th Street. A third fire truck was acquired to furnish the new station. The city hired its first full time fire chief, William Harris, in 1980. When he began working on March 8 he was supervising a total of 9 firefighters.
Morris stayed on as chief of police and his department moved to another new City Hall, in the former Alabama State Highway Patrol station on Bessemer Highway, in 1981. Two years later the city decided to re-combine their police and fire departments under one Midfield Department of Public Safety. Morris resumed leadership of the combined department until his retirement on September 30, 1989. At the same time, a new combined Midfield Fire Station on Woodfield Road (now Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard) was constructed, opening on November 23 of that year. Then the former Fairfield Highlands station was renovated as a senior center.
In 2020 Midfield hired newly-retired Birmingham Fire & Rescue Service assistant chief Donald Jones. Under his administration the department expanded to 17 full-time staff and two pump trucks. Jones died in April 2021.
Chiefs
- James W. Morris, 1955–March 8, 1980
- William Harris, March 8, 1980–October 24, 1983
- James W. Morris, October 24, 1983–September 30, 1989
- Donald Jones, 2020–April 21, 2021
References
- Robinson, Carol (April 21, 2021) "Midfield Fire Chief Donald Jones dies unexpectedly on his lunch break at age 59." The Birmingham News
External links
- Midfield Fire & Rescue Service at cityofmidfield.com
- Midfield Public Safety Department history at midfieldchamber.com