Shortly after the U.S. entered World War II, the City Springfield established a Civil Defense Fire Department to supplement the regular municipal force.
Calvin Roberds, author of the fire division history "From Buckets to Diesels," began his career in the fire service as the captain of the auxiliary force at age 18.
In his book, Roberds said the Civil Defense Fire Department inherited three of the city's old International Harvester hose wagons, which were built in the 1920s and refitted for wartime service with 500 gallon per minute skid pumps and other equipment.
``The end results would not have won any prizes for beauty, but three functional fire engines were the result,'' Roberds wrote.
