History of Our Bell
The History of the Cuyahoga Falls Fire Bell. The Buckeye Bell Company was founded in Cincinnati in 1837, the same year the Cuyahoga Falls Fire Department (CFFD) was established. Buckeye Bell was later bought by Vanduzen & Tift and in 1888, The Cuyahoga Falls Fire Bell was cast at the Buckeye Bell Foundry, located at 164 East Second Street in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Cuyahoga Falls Fire Bell was originally housed in the cupola in the first City Hall located at Broad Blvd and Front Street. It is 28 inches tall, 30 inches wide and weighs more than nearly 700 pounds and served as the original beacon to call volunteer firefighters to action when fire broke out in our City. This Fire Bell was used for several decades to call our city’s firefighters until the early part of the twentieth century.
By the 1900’s many changes had taken place. The CFFD had outgrown its space in the basement of City Hall and a dedicated Fire Station was planned.
In 1927, the CFFD moved to 1924 Front Street and named Fire Station #1.
In the early 1930’s bricks and other remnants began falling from the bell tower at City Hall. Out of safety concerns, the bell was removed from the cupola and tucked away in the empty garage floor that once housed the fire department. It sat unused for many years and was eventually brought to Oakwood Cemetery in 1948 to be placed in a makeshift memorial.
In 2020, the Cuyahoga Falls Firefighter Memorial Foundation was established to honor the legacy and sacrifice of all members of the Cuyahoga Falls Fire Department (CFFD) and to create and maintain a suitable firefighter memorial in support of that mission. The CFFD Fire Bell was removed from Oakwood Cemetery in August 2021 to be sent back to Cincinnati for restoration as the centerpiece of this memorial.
During the funeral of retired members of the Cuyahoga Falls Fire Department, a special ceremony is held to conclude the services by reading the dedication and ringing a bell three times, for three cycles, with pauses in between cycles. This is the signal that the alarm is completed, and the firefighter is called home.
With the completion of this memorial, our city’s historic Fire Bell will once again ring in remembrance of the men and women of the Cuyahoga Falls Fire Department and all firefighters who have served their communities, whom remain forever grateful.
History of Bells in the Fire Service
Bells have been used in the American Fire Service since its inception in the late 1700’s. Before telephones, computers or portable radios, bells served as the most effective way to communicate a message over a large area. In the past, as fire fighters began their tour of duty, it was the bell that signaled the beginning of that day’s shift. Throughout the day and night, each alarm was sounded by a bell, which summoned these brave souls to fight fires and to place their lives in jeopardy for the good of their fellow citizen. And when the fire was out and the alarm had come to an end, it was the bell that signaled to all the completion of that call. Eventually, bells become commonplace on the front of apparatus, used as a means of warning the public that a fire apparatus was responding to an emergency call. When a fire fighter died in the line of duty, paying the supreme sacrifice, it was the mournful toll of the bell that solemnly announced a comrade’s passing.
We utilize these traditions as symbols, which reflect honor and respect on those who have given so much and who have served so well.
To symbolize the devotion that these brave souls had for their duty, a special signal of three rings, three times each, represents the end of our comrades’ duties and that they will be returning to quarters. And so, to those who have selflessly given their lives for the good of their fellow man, their tasks completed, their duties well done, to our comrades, their last alarm, they are going home.
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