April 1969 - Racine Fire Department becomes a Class 1 Fire Department. 1974 - Emergency Medical Technician training is undertaken by fire fighters. 1985 - Hazardous Materials Response Team begins training for chemical emergencies. June 1998 - First Paramedic Rescue Squad placed in service. Simply stated, today's events are tomorrow's history.
History is a great teacher of lessons.
The fire service is one of the best examples of what history can do for us. It teaches us that prevention is better than suppression. Yet without the lessons learned through fire fighting, prevention would be meaningless. Likewise the evolution of fire fighting to the highly technical skills of today are the result of past mistakes, which sometimes were paid for through death and permanant disability of a fire fighters. History also gives us a sense of pride.