Centre Fire rededicated in 2025
The history of the fire service in Centre Township is deeply rooted in the values of a community that, in 1948, saw the need for better fire protection and worked together to make it a reality. That spirit of community has remained through the years, as Centre’s fire department modernized and reorganized to meet ever-changing needs.
In early 2024, the Centre Township Board announced it would end the 2008 agreement with Portage Township that had merged the two departments into the Southwest Central Fire Territory. As of January 2025, we will again be known as Centre Township Fire Department. It’s a move that puts control of fire, rescue, and emergency medical services back into the hands of the community that has relied on us for more than 75 years.
Our team of professional firefighter/EMTs is honored to continue the legacy of dedication and service that drove so many who came before us to protect the lives and property of their neighbors. And we’re proud to once again be “The Pride of the South Side”.
A Timeline of Fire Service in Centre Township
1948
Centre Township Volunteer Fire Department founded
1996
centre hires its first full-time firefighter/emts
2008
centrE joins portage and warren townships to create SWCFT
2025
the next generation of Centre Fire established
A history of service and commitment
By (and for) the people
“There are two ways you can build a fire station. You can hire someone to build it or you can build it yourself. The people of Centre Township, this county, chose the hard way. They built one themselves.”
That was the how South Bend Tribune reporter James McCartney started his article announcing the June 4, 1950, dedication ceremony of the new two-story, two-bay fire station at 19971 Kern Road.
Centre Township Volunteer Fire Department was chartered in 1948. The roughly 30 members quickly went to work raising funds, swinging hammers and laying bricks. They built the station on their own for $15,000 (about half the cost of hiring a contractor at the time), with most of the money coming from donations by township residents.
It was the first (and only) fire station ever built in the township, which had until then contracted with the city of South Bend for fire protection.
Nearly 75 years later, the original building still serves as the main hub for fire and EMS services, as well as for township administration. Six more bays were added in the early 1990s and sleeping quarters were built about a decade later, but the hard work and dedication of those volunteer firemen/laborers is very much visible today.
Ladies Auxiliary
Volunteerism was at the heart of the fire service for decades, especially outside the city limits. And stations like ours were the heart of community activities, thanks to a very active Ladies Auxiliary, which hosted social events and fundraisers for the department and local charities that benefitted township residents and their children.
The volunteer spirit remained strong through the years. But as the local economy moved away from manufacturing to more 9-5 jobs, the township could no longer depend solely on volunteers.
So, in the late 1990s, the township hired its first two full-time firefighter/EMTs and a chief to ensure at least a minimum level of coverage on weekdays.
Six decades of volunteers
For 60 years, volunteers were the core of the fire service in Centre Township, as well as a large portion of Greene Township. But as work life continued to change and the time demands for required training increased, it became too impractical for too many current and prospective volunteers.
It wasn’t just a Centre Township problem. That’s why, in 2008, Centre joined with Portage and Warren townships to form the Southwest Central Fire Territory (SWCFT).
Fire territories are special arrangements between typically small units of government like towns and townships. They have the ability to levy taxes and are dependent almost exclusively on taxpayer money to operate.
SWCFT (2008-2024)
Staffed 24/7 by full-time, career firefighter/EMTs, SWCFT continued the tradition of prompt emergency response and compassionate care.
But fire territories are not always a permanent arrangement. A couple of years after SWCFT was established, Warren Township opted out. Centre and Portage continued the partnership until early 2024, when they decided to dissolve the territory altogether at the end of the year.
