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About Us.

In 1981, citizens from southern Lawrence County scheduled a meeting to discuss forming a fire department in the Lowmansville area.  The meeting was held at W.R. Castle Memorial Elementary School in Johnson County, and several area residents attended hoping that the new fire department would benefit them.

They soon found that the Lowmansville Fire Department, once it was organized, would not provide any insurance benefits for the residents around the school.  Thus they decided to start their own fire department.

The station was to be located in Wittensville, but the department would serve Nippa, Stambaugh, Tutor Key, Staffordsville, Turner Branch, Sitka, Chandlerville, and parts of Lowmansville.  This made selection of a name difficult, but the uniting factor in all those communities was that most of the children attended W.R. Castle School.  In order to give ownership to those citizens, the name was adopted as W.R. Castle Fire Department.

Later that year, with a retired army truck bearing very little equipment, the W.R. Castle Fire Department opened its doors.  The building contained three bays and a training area, but no floor or insulation, and consequently no heat.  The truck had a tree growing through the grill when the charter members retrieved it.

But by 1982, the department had its first true fire truck, Engine 310.  Soon a tanker and rescue truck joined the fleet, and today the department operates three engines, one tanker, and a rescue truck out of two stations.  Station 1, the original building, is located at 3832 US 23 North in Wittensville and houses Engine 1, Engine 2, Tanker 1, and Rescue 1.  Station 2, completed in 2008, is at 2465 Ky. Rt. 1559 at Stambaugh, and houses Engine 3.

Current fleet

Engine 1 is a 1998 Ford/Emergency One pumper, rated at 1,250 gallons per minute.  It carries 1,000 gallons of water, auto extrication tools, and a full array of structural firefighting equipment.

Engine 2 is a 1986 GMC/FMC pumper, with a 1,000-gpm pump and a 750-gallon tank.  It is equipped identically to Engine 1.

Engine 3 is a 1977 Ford/Emergency One pumper, rated at 750 gallons per minute and carrying 500 gallons of water.  It carries structural firefighting equipment.

Tanker 1 is a 1996 International/Bluegrass tanker.  It carries 2,300 gallons of water and two 350-gpm portable pumps, along with other equipment for water supply operations.

Rescue 1 is a 2008 Ford/Fouts Bros. rescue.  It carries an extensive collection of auto extrication tools, as well as specialized medical equipment, wildland search and rescue gear, and large floodlights.

Retired apparatus

310 was the department’s first truck, a 1950’s military rig that had previously served at the now-defunct Meally Fire Department.

Engine 310, a 1981 Ford/Allegheny pumper, replaced it in 1983 and served until 1997, when it was sold to the Flat Gap Fire Department.

The original Tanker 311 was a 1972 GMC tanker, replaced in the early 90’s by the second Tanker 311.

Tanker 311 was a 1979 Ford/Bluegrass tanker.  In 2002 the tank was removed and placed on a newer truck, creating the Tanker 1 that serves today.

Squad 312 served from 1987 to 2007, transporting rescue tools and medical equipment.  It was replaced by Rescue 1 and sold to the Turkey Creek Fire Department in Martin County.