History
A volunteer fire department was formed in the 1970’s due to the
need for more protection, and faster response times in the Ellerbe
Road area located in the southeaster part of Caddo Parish just south
of Shreveport’s city limits. This area literally came out of the
woodwork of this once shady, peaceful country-side. This area is
considered by some as one of the fastest growing in Caddo Parish.
The first station was originally built by the Keithville Volunteer
Fire Department and served as its satellite station. At that time
Keithville VFD was protecting just about the whole southern part of
Caddo Parish, but as the area between Keithville and Ellerbe grew it
became apparent that Keithville could no longer operate the
substation, so they were instrumental in forming the Ellerbe Road
Volunteer Dept. They even donated their station and 1000 GPM pumper
to the newly formed organization. The old station, located on
Overton Brooks Road, was basically a log cabin that the volunteers
built. It housed a couple of rigs, but did not have room for an
office. The office was later added by the volunteers.
When Louisiana passed the Fire Protection District legislation it
gave a tax base for operating fire service organizations such as the
Ellerbe Rd. VFD. It then became know as Caddo Parish Fire District #
5, and allowed the new fire district the necessary finances to build
a new Station in 1985 to replaced the log cabin station on Overton
Brooks Road.
Over the years two additional sub-stations were built - A Station at
Caspiana Levee Road and Highway 1 and another at Norris Ferry &
Southern Trace Pkwy.
The fire station on Overton Brooks was replaced by a Station at 1675
Leonard Road on September 29, 2003. This station is designated as
"Central" and houses CFD 5's Headquarters, and several pieces of
apparatus plus other firefighting equipment.
In the summer of 2005 former Caddo Fire District 9's area of
responsibility was absorbed into Fire District 5. The Fire Dist. 9’s
Station, located at 5151 Dixie Garden, is now Fire District 5's
Station 2. The two unmanned sub-stations are now designated as
Station 3 (Caspiana Levee Road and Highway 1) and Station 4 (Norris
Ferry & Southern Trace Pkwy). Stations 3 and 4 are un-manned and
house apparatus and equipment which are retrieved as needed for
emergency calls.
In 2005 Fire District 5 improved their PIAL (Property Insurance
Association of Louisiana) ranking by 2 points. Improvements in
equipment, number of trained firefighters, EMT's and other
requirements elevated CFD 5's ranking from a 6 to a 4.
| Newspaper Clippings and Photos Documenting CFD 5's History | |||
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| Click on newspaper articles to enlarge | |||
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| How the Volunteers Raised the money to buy Fire Engines |
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| First Rescue Unit Bought in 1985 |
Class B Pumper (350 GPM with 1200 gal tank) Bought in 1984 with Money raised by Volunteers |
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| 1st Tanker (250 GPM with 1000 gal tank) Donated by Keithville Vol. F.D. in 1984 |
Rescue Unit Bought in 1988 Replaced 1st Rescue |
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| Brush Truck Donated by Keithville Vol. Fire Dept. in 1984 |
Rescue 2 Purchased for CFD 5 by Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office in early 1990's |
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| Office being built
for First paid Firefighter Daytime Shift |
Class A Pumper (1000 GPM with 1000 gal tank) Bought by Volunteers in 1984 |
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| Station 1- Built in
1985 to Replace the log cabin station. This station was replaced by our new Headquarter Station at 1675 Leonard Rd. on September 29, 2003 |
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| Our History Continues in this Web Site's Documents, Photos & Videos | |||