Fire Chief

Don Lehman

On behalf of the Nappanee Fire Department, we welcome you to our website. The Nappanee Fire Department has been serving the community of Nappanee since the 1890s. In July 2021 the EMS Department merged with the Fire Department. Today, the department consists of 8 full-time employees and 33 dedicated volunteers working out of 3 stations that house 17 pieces of apparatus. The main stations are located at 300 & 301 W. Lincoln Street and Station 2 is located at 841 E. Wabash Street.

We respond to approximately 1,200 Fire/EMS and rescue calls each year. It is our mission to provide the best pre-hospital patient care, fire protection, fire prevention, education, and rescue services to those who live, work and visit our community. I hope this website provides the information you need regarding our department. If you need more information or wish to make a suggestion or comment please contact me.

Thank you for visiting our website and feel free to stop at the main station anytime to visit.

— Don Lehman, Fire Chief

Emergency for All Stations, call 911

See what District you live in by referencing the Fire District Map.

Fire Stations

Nappanee Fire Department Headquarters
300 W. Lincoln St.
Nappanee, IN 46550
574-773-4000 (Non-Emergency)

Nappanee Fire Department Station 2
840 E. Wabash Ave.
Nappanee, IN 46550
574-773-4000 (Non-Emergency)

Until the 1890s, Nappanee residents fought fire themselves as “bucket brigades,” passing water hand-

to-hand in an attempt to extinguish the flames. At least one downtown business owner even had his own fire suppression system—barrels of water on the roof.

Public sentiment spurred business owners and town leaders to establish fire companies. The creation of the waterworks at the end of the 19th century allowed for fire hydrants and more dependable water deliver.

Residents started reporting fires by telephone in 1908, and a decade later, the first motorized fire vehicle was put into service.

Today, the department has several emergency response vehicles, including ladder and tanker trucks. But even with incredible technological and professional advancements, our city’s firefighters are still known as Smokey Stovers—and for good reason.

Famed cartoonist Bill Holman grew up in Nappanee and developed a love of drawing while working at a five-and-dime downtown. After taking a correspondence course, he latched on as a copy boy at the Chicago Tribune and began drawing with some of the famed cartoonists of the 1920s.

In 1935, Holman first drew “Smokey Stover” about a pun-loving fireman. Smokey lived in the comic pages for nearly 40 years until Holman’s retirement—and his hometown fire department honors his accomplishments with the Smokey Stover drawing proudly displayed on Nappanee fire trucks.