On November 14, 1939, The Board of the Spokane County Commissioners adopted a Resolution to hold an election on Tuesday, March 12, 1940, to determine if the Spokane Valley Fire Protection District No. 1 should be formed, and for the election of its first Fire Commissioners.  On March 12, more than two-thirds of the votes cast were in favor of the formation and E.G. Kenney, F.R. Salter, and D.R. Meigs received the highest number of votes for Fire Commissioner.  The Spokane Valley Fire Protection District No. 1 was officially approved by another Resolution of the Board of the Spokane County Commissioners on March 22, 1940. 

J.R. Bittle was the first fire chief to be appointed on December 1, 1940, by the Fire Commissioners.  Chief Bittle left the department in September 1942, and Bassil George was appointed as the next chief.  America was at war which resulted in interim chiefs filling in for Chief George while he was on military duty. There was also a significant turnover in firefighters during this period of time.  Since Chief George’s service to the community, there have been eleven additional fire chiefs.

On December 5, 1940, the Greenacres Station received three (unknown year) Ford Mercury Seagrave fire engines.  The Orchard Avenue Station was built next and was located at Park and Utah.  Engine 2 began responding out of the new station in May 1941.   Engine 1 began responding out of the Dishman Station located on Sprague Avenue at about Marguerite in November 1941.  The fire station was inherited from the County Fire Department.  This one County Station had previously responded to all fires within Spokane County.  By the end of 1941, the Spokane Valley Fire Protection District No. 1 employed eleven firefighters that worked 48 hours and were off 24 hours.  Today the Spokane Valley Fire Department has ten fire stations and employs 165 firefighters that work 24 hours and are off 48 hours.

The boundaries of the Spokane Valley Fire Department cover approximately 75 square miles; the western boundary is Havana Street and the eastern boundary is the Idaho State Line.  In 1940 the population within the District’s boundaries was approximately 10,000 and today the population served is approximately 125,000.  For many years the service area within the District was an unincorporated part of Spokane County.  Today the Spokane Valley Fire Department provides emergency services and programs to the cities of Liberty Lake, Spokane Valley and Millwood (all of whom annexed into the District at various times over the past ten years) and surrounding unincorporated areas of Spokane County.