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Former county employee recalls building Douglas County Fire Department from an 'empty box'
Summary
An unidentified former county employee recounted joining Douglas County in 1974 and helping Chief Arrington build the Douglas County Fire Department after it went full time in August 1975, starting with minimal office resources and close ties to early staff.
Unidentified Speaker, a former county employee, recalled beginning work for Douglas County in 1974 and later joining the Douglas County Fire Department when it transitioned to full-time operations.
She said, "I started with the county in 1974, and I was working for the Board of Commissioners," and that Chief Arrington "approached me and wanted to know if I would come to work for him." According to the speaker, there was no office staff at the time.
The speaker said the department went full time in August 1975, and that is when she began working for Chief Arrington. She described arriving at an almost empty office: "He had a box like, copy paper comes in, and it had a few papers in it... this is all we have," she recalled, quoting the chief.
She emphasized how modest the early administrative setup was: "So we started from an empty box, all pen and paper, no computers," and said the department "grew from there." The speaker also described a close workplace culture among early hires, saying, "they were like my kids" and that some former employees "still call me mama."
The recollection focuses on the department's origins, the transition to full-time status in 1975, and the personal ties formed among early staff. The speaker expressed pride in the department's subsequent growth and achievements.
No formal actions, motions, or policy decisions were recorded in the transcript; the content is a personal recollection offered during the recorded exchange.
