The history of the Zoneton Fire Protection District begins in July 1958 with the thoughts and wisdom of land owners to organize a club named the Zoneton Improvement Club consisting of eleven (11) Directors on the Board, which would be elected annually at the December Board meeting. The purpose of the Improvement Club was to promote the general welfare of the citizens of Bullitt County and more especially the residents and property owners in the section of Bullitt County known as the Zoneton area. Its focus was on the safety education in the field of fire prevention and to have the power to own and operate firefighting equipment and may charge fees for its uses determined by the Board of Directors, but no pecuniary profit shall be derived by any person from the operation of said corporation and no capital stock shall be issued.
The first regular business meeting of the club was held Friday November 14, 1958 at the home of Mr. Lawrence Frick and all meetings were held there until the completion of the firehouse on highway 61 and the first meeting at the firehouse was held on March 20, 1959. To become a member you had to be voted on by the Board of Directors and paid annual dues of $1.00 each year and the membership was limited for 50 members. The following is a list of the members on the roster November 14, 1958: Mr. John Pike, Mr. Raymond McGruder, Mr. J.E. Steedly, Mr. Leo Becnel, Mr. John Steverson, Mr. Bernie Bischoff, Mr. Raymond Hornbeck, Mr. Lawrence Frick, Mr. Eugene Laswell, Mr. Martin Roper, Mr. Hiram Gibson Jr., Mr. Chester Crumbacker, Mr. Jack Gillespie, Mr. J.N. Taylor, Mr. Michel Miller, Mr. Carl Conlin, Mr. J.D. Garr, Mr. Joe Kelley, Mr. E. Thornsbury, Mr. Wallace Reader, Mr. James Ricketts Jr., Mr. William Crumbacker, Mr. Earl Cundiff, Mr. W.D. Hasty, Mr. Ervin Kelley, Mr. Earl Kelley, Mr. Ed Hunt, Mr. Bill Roby, and Mr. Charles Decker.
In the Board of Directors meeting held January 9, 1959 six (6) members pledged money to complete the firehouse and they were to be paid back when the funds became available. Mr. J.E. Steedly $300.00 and the following all pledged $100.00 each Mr. Joe Kelley, Mr. Raymond Hornbeck, Mr. Lawrence Frick, Mr. Chester Crumbacker, and Mr. Raymond McGruder. In the same meeting the Zoneton Improvement Club voted to contract Okolona Fire Department to make fire runs in the Zoneton area for $100.00 for the year of 1959, being that Zoneton had no fire equipment or a fire house. In March of 1959 Martin Roper was elected as the Fire Chief of the Zoneton Fire Department. In July of 1959 the Improvement Club has raised enough money to pay back the money to the six members who had loaned the money for the completion of the firehouse.
In October 1959 the Zoneton Improvement Club bought a 1941 fire truck from Buechel, KY for $600.00. In November 1959 the Board voted to sign with Okolona Fire Department for $100.00 to provide fire protection for another year while we worked on organizing and training. In September 1960 the Board bought a truck and tank for the cost of $400.00 for hauling water to fire scenes. In October 1960 the Board ordered a new fire truck from American LaFrance Fire Apparatus Company. In December of 1960 the dues were set for the Improvement Club as follows: House & Lot single family on five acres or less $7.50 per year, Farms set at $10.00, and Businesses set at $15.00, also, the fee was set at $250.00 for fire on property that dues were not paid.
In April of 1963 the Board voted to start a ladies auxiliary for the fire department. In July of 1968 the Zoneton Improvement Club became the Zoneton Fire District using seven (7) Board members which is the same structure used today in fire protection districts. In 1973 Zoneton Fire Protection built a Station II at 163 Overlook Acres in Brooks and constructed a new building on the same address in 1990 which currently houses all the equipment and personnel for station II firefighters. In January of 1996 the new station was built and used for the equipment and personnel for station I firefighters and the administrative offices. In October of 2006 we added 14,000 square feet to the current Station I and added sleeping dorms for both the Volunteer Firefighters as well as for the Paid staff. In May of 2002 the fire district hired our first Fire Chief Al Yancey, and followed up in August of 2002 with the first 5 paid firefighters at the following positions: Nick Dachille, Captain and Tracey Key, Dan Johnson, Steven Corbin, and Matt Dachille as firefighters. Since that time the current Fire Chief was hired in June of 2003, Rob Orkies. We added three additional career firefighters in January 2007, Dustin Headley, Wayne Mosely, and Jason Hendrix. In October of 2008 we added two more career firefighters Joey Allen and Chris Bischoff. In April 2013 we hired Kevin Moulton as our Fire Marshal and in July 2013 we hired Travis Riley as a firefighter. Our Administrative assistant is Ricky Carlson. We currently have 45 firefighters, 15 Auxiliary members and a 7 member Board of Trustees. We currently have a ISO Class 2 rating effective April 2015, which is the lowest in Bullitt County and only 7 percent of the fire departments in America have that qualification or lower.
