The East Columbus Independent Fire Department (ECIFD) was organized in 1942, and provided primary fire protection to the area incorporated as East Columbus. In 1948, this area was annexed into the City of Columbus and the department switched from urban response to rural response.

ECIFD has provided primary fire response to as many as nine of the townships in Bartholomew County. One of the first Chiefs, Dale Greenlee, promoted volunteer firefighting and helped form most of the volunteer fire departments in the county.

Originally, the fire engines were built by the volunteer firefighters and were stored at the Arthur Givens Truck Company. Dale Greenlee lived at 51 South Cherry Street. Dale or his wife would receive calls for fires and would sound a fire siren in their yard to alert the firefighters.

In 1945, ECIFD built its first fire station at 2001 State Street (on the corner of State and Mapleton). ECIFD responded from that station for 27 years.

In 1972, Irwin Union bank purchased the State Street station for development as a bank.  A new fire station was built at 770 South Marr Road.  This station had room for five vehicles, a meeting room, an office, and a kitchen.  The department operated out of this station for over 30 years, but eventually the size of the station became too small for newer apparatus and training needs.

In 2003, a new station was completed at 935 Repp Drive. The station provided a larger facility with a dedicated training room, bunker gear room, larger apparatus bay, backup generator, firefighter lounge, extrication training area, and additional parking.  The new station also has additional space that can be leased or used for additional classes and training. The leased space helped provide additional income used to pay for the cost of the station. This station remains in operation today.

In 2005, a second station was purchased at 4830 Progress Drive.  This second station serves the properties located in the North and West portions of Columbus Township as well as mutual aid to the adjoining fire departments.  This station provides a firefighter lounge, kitchen, and apparatus bay. This station remains in operation today.

The stations were named in the fall of 2005 to Station 221 (Repp Drive) and Station 222 (Progress Drive) to easily identify which station was being referred to.

At the beginning of 2006, spaces in both stations were leased by Columbus Regional Hospital to house a 24-hour ambulance and crew. The second floor of Station 221 was finished to provide the crews sleeping quarters, and Station 222 received some modifications to provide quarters. Station 221 continues to host a CRH ambulance today, contributing to a strong working relationship and additional medical training opportunities and resources.

In the spring of 2009, the Columbus Township Trustee started a program to provide career firefighter staffing during times when volunteer availability was low. As times had changed, volunteers were no longer able to leave jobs to respond to calls, and this affected response during daytime hours.  The staffing provided guaranteed coverage during weekdays from 7am to 5pm.  This program was very successful in providing quick response to calls throughout the week.

Over the years, the fire department was often referred to as “Columbus Township”, which more closely reflects the area we serve today as opposed to when the organization was first incorporated.  In 2010, the department received a “Doing Business As” (D/B/A) registration for Columbus Township Fire & Rescue, and this has become our common name.

Continuing our evolution to meet the needs and expectations of our citizens, in January of 2020 we shifted to 24/7 staffing with career firefighters supplemented by volunteers. Today we have a crew of 3 firefighters on duty at all times, backed by a number of volunteers. Through MOU’s and automatic aid agreements with other fire and law enforcement agencies, we respond to structure fires in the city of Columbus, vehicle entrapment rescues throughout all of Bartholomew County, and water rescue incidents within the county.

Columbus Township Fire & Rescue is proud of our heritage in serving the community for over 80 years, and strives to provide the best possible service at the most reasonable cost.