Bits of O'Fallon History: O'Fallon's First Volunteer Fire Department

The O'Fallon Volunteer Fire Department was organized in 1906 by William A. Westhoff who was married to Mary Krekel Westhoff, daughter of Nicholas.

The first fire station was little more than a shed that was located just west of the building that still stands on the southeast corner of Elm and Main. It housed a wagon, too small to be pulled by horses, that carried a chemical fire extinguisher. A few years later, a new fire station was build on West Elm. The bell on top of the original was almost lost when someone put it on a scrap heap for a World War II scrap metal drive. Bill Steiner, who later became chief of the fire department, rescued it. When proceeds from the 1956 Centennial were used to build the Fire Station #1 on Elm Street (with most of the labor being done by the firemen themselves), the bill was planted in front and has since been referred to as the Memorial Bell and is rung only at the passing of a present or former fireman.

When Bill Steiner passed away in 2009, his casket was placed atop a fire truck that transported him to Station 1 on Elm Street where the bell rang in his honor.