The State of Michigan was divided into townships in the 1830's. Warren Twp in the Southeast section of the state was named after General Earl Warren of revolutionary war fame. The Warren Fire Department is the oldest emergency service in the city and was established in 1939. The city would grow to be the third largest city in Michigan.

On May 12 1939 the Warren Fire Department was officially established with two full time fire fighters with the authority to appoint volunteers. Fire station #1 was manned June 15, 1939. The Township attracted major industry such as the US Army Tank Arsenal, Dodge Truck, General Motors Research Laboratory and Technical Center, General Electric, Ford, Holly Carburetor, and numerous other tool and die shops.

Due to this growth, Engine Company 2 was added on 6/24/42 along with 3 additional personnel. In the fall of 1948 ground was broken for Engine House #2 at the Southeast area of the township.

In a move that would be the early beginning of the departments commitment to EMS as a service of the fire department, a new Packard ambulance was put in service 9/25/54.

In January 1957 Warren Township became the city of Warren. The department had 47 full-time fire fighters operating 6 engines, 3 grass trucks and 2 ambulances. The city also incorporated the "old village" of Warren along with its station and volunteer members. This station became Warren Station 4 and served the north west section of the city.

In November 1957 ground was broken for Engine Company #5 and was completed in July. It was named Consigney Hall in memory of Township fire fighter William Consigney who died in the line of duty 7/16/43. It served the northeast corner of the city.

In 1965 the city of Warren purchased the first diesel powered fire truck in the State of Michigan, a Pirsch 1250 gpm pumper. In a test by the New York City Fire Department this engine would pump 1.8 million gallons of water over 24 consecutive hours without a single problem.

On Feb. 6 1967 Station 6 was opened to serve the northwest area of the city. During this period the City of Warren was the fastest growing city in America.

On April 1, 1974 the department put its first Advanced Life Support Unit into service. It served the entire city of Warren from station one and proved that advanced life support was a feasible service to provide to the citizens of Warren. Additional units were in August 1980; January 1983 and August 1987.

A new Station 3 was built in May 1986 and a new Station 4 in Sept. 1992. A new Station 2 and administration building was dedicated in November 1992.

Currently the Warren Fire Department covers 34.5 square miles and serves a population of approximately 145,000. The department runs 6 engines out of 6 stations geographically located around the city. Four squad/ALS units cover the quadrants and run out of stations 2,3,5 and 6. Two ladder trucks run out of stations 1 and 4 in the south and north central stations. There are 174 full time fire fighters on the department 162 of whom are on 56 hour shifts with a 3 unit rotation. There is a daily minimum manpower of 39 members in the fire fighting division. 2 Mechanics, 5 inspectors, 2 Chiefs of Training (EMS and Fire fighting), an Management Information Specialist(MIS) , a Chief and Asst. Chief are assigned to the 40 hour division. The department is headed by a Fire Commissioner. In 1996 the department set a record with 10008 runs, approximately 7000 of which were medical. In 1997 that record was shattered with over 10400 runs.

Special thanks to Dep. Chief Lou Kingsley in the historical compilation of the Warren Fire Department.

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