The Mansfield Volunteer Fire Department and Douglas County Fire District #5 were formally organized in 1954. Even though they were sperate departments, they were housed together, in the original three-bay fire station located behind Mansfield Town Hall. The original apparatus consisted of three fire trucks, and one ambulance. At the time there were 18 founding members for the department.
Through the years the department continued to grow which resulted in the construction of the current fire station in 1974. In 1990, the Fire District annexed a large section of unprotected land on the east side of SR 17, which expanded the Fire District to approximately 540 square miles. The Fire District boundaries extend from the Columbia River to Banks Lake (West to East) and Dyer Hill to Jameson Lake (North to South). In 2004, through a vote of the citizens, the district officially annexed the Town of Mansfield into the Fire District. This action officially disbanded the Mansfield Volunteer Fire Department, which was still managed by the Town of Mansfield, and moved all personnel and operations under the umbrella of the Fire District.
The Fire District has continued to grow into the progressive department it is today. The Fire District proudly has 32 active members serving as both Firefighters and Emergency Medical Technicians. It has a fleet of over 20 pieces of apparatus which allows the Fire District to respond all types of different incidents.
