The Altona Fire Department has come a long way from a single hose attached to a horse drawn pump. Altona/Rhineland Emergency Services will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2022.

Fire Chief Greg Zimmerman says the department is planning to compile a history book to mark the milestone.

“The Altona Rhineland Emergency Services originally started out as the Altona Fire Department in 1904. They went along as a small little fire department raising funds and doing their own thing until 1922 when they were officially established as a fire department.”

Zimmerman says they will try to cover a little bit of everything in the book.

“The history of the department. History of the membership and some of the members and any major events that occurred, you know, just sort of a little book that you can read through and get an idea of what the department's gone through and how it's evolved over the years.”

Consisting of 20 members, that 1922 brigade was formed shortly after the Village of Altona lost 6 businesses to fire.

Zimmerman says they have a lot of newspaper clippings and such from the 40s, 50s, 60s and upwards but they are searching for documentation from 1904 to the 1940s.

“I'd like to reach out to the community, anybody that has any information of the fire department from the past. We'd appreciate any information at all. You can get a hold of myself at the fire hall or get hold of Daryl Rempel, who's spearheading the project.”

Zimmerman says they're hoping to have the contents compiled by fall in time to have it printed.

Click here to read more about the fire department's history.