Capt. William P. Gresham is a retired captain of the Hoover Fire Department.
Photo courtesy of Capt. William Gresham.
A photo of the first call made to the Hoover Fire Department back in 1963.
My name is Capt. William P. Gresham. I’m retired from the Hoover Fire Department. I was there for 26 years. My father-in-law was Chief Marshall Ralph Sheppard, who was the first fire chief of the Hoover Volunteer Fire Department.
He gave me an old photograph several years ago. It was the very first call that was made, the first response to a fire on U.S. 31 across from Hendrick Chevrolet GMC, formerly Ivan Leonard Chevrolet at East Hoover Lane.
Not only was Chief Sheppard in the photograph, but we had Chief Hartley Ayers from Vestavia. We had O.E. Braddock, who later became a mayor of Hoover, and also not pictured but probably over on the engine was Mr. Raymond Patton.
So this was made in February 1963, and it had great significance for the Hoover Fire Department in that it was the first photograph made and certainly the first call that was made.
