A Brief History of the Randolph Volunteer Fire Department
Written by
Retired Randolph Fire Chief
Mike Lang Jr.
MY FAMILY AND THE RANDOLPH FIRE DEPARTMENT
The history of the Randolph Fire Department goes back more than 110 years and our family has been involved every step of the way. As most organizations do, the Randolph Fire Department had a very modest beginning that created the foundation for the department we know today. Few actual records were kept in the early years and much of the documentation relies on newspaper articles saved by members of our community.
One newspaper article dated May 12, 1961 reported that a dinner was held at the Randolph School gymnasium honoring our town’s firemen. At this dinner, Eber Brunner read a history of the fire department which began about 1912 when the men in the township began uniting to fight fires within the community. Randolph’s first fire truck was a hand drawn two-wheeler with a copper chemical tank filled with an extinguishing agent. This piece of equipment was stored inside the warehouse of Clement Lang’s store of general merchandise that stood on the corner where the gazebo is now located in the center of town. The Lang family was responsible for the cart’s maintenance and deployment when needed. In 1915 or 1916 the unit was moved across the street to the building most commonly known as Jenior Ford Sales and was replaced by a Ford Model T roadster with a tank. A second article discusses the formation of the Portage County Firemen’s Association in September of 1926. This association was called “the first of its kind in the State of Ohio.” Fire department representatives from Ravenna, Kent, Mantua, Atwater, Hiram, Windham, Garrettsville, and Randolph were all present. Another newspaper article dated February 22, 1930 reported that the house of Fred Ludlow caught fire and the Randolph Fire Department was called. Unfortunately, little other documentation exists about these early years.
The Randolph Fire Department was formally chartered with the State of Ohio on May 31,1940. Three members, H.D. Coler, Waldo Loomis and Claude Lang signed the charter incorporating the Randolph Volunteer Fire Company. This formalized our Department and brought forth many changes. In anticipation of this step, the old Model T and other existing outdated equipment was raffled off to help purchase a brand new fire engine. A 1940 Ford truck was purchased from Jenior Ford Sales and the fire truck body module was custom fabricated by Harry Wise in his service bays at Wise Chevrolet. My maternal great grandfather, Harry Wise was appointed as the first Fire Chief of the Randolph Fire Department. Other charter members from our family include my great grandfather Clement Lang and grandfather Claude Lang. Chief Wise led the Department for the next 23 years. During this time the Department grew and purchased more equipment. Three of Harry’s sons, Robert, my maternal grandfather Richard, and Russell all joined the Department as well. The next three fire trucks were all built on Chevrolet chassis with the fire truck body modules custom built by Chief Wise in the service department of Wise Chevrolet. Atwater Township was so impressed with one of his designs that they purchased a twin to the one he built for Randolph. This Chevrolet brush fire unit was delivered in August of 1962 and is still in service with the Atwater Fire Department today. Chief Wise passed away in 1962 after falling ill with pneumonia shortly after responding to a house fire that winter.
Following the death of Chief Wise, my grandfather, Claude Lang was appointed as the second Fire Chief of the Randolph Fire Department. Like his predecessor, Chief Lang oversaw growth and advancement within the Department. Chief Lang purchased new self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for our firefighters and also purchased the first fire engine to be built by a custom fire apparatus manufacturer. This truck was purchased in 1970 from Sutphen Corporation in Columbus, Ohio and was built on a Chevrolet Chassis from Wise Chevrolet. As the nation began to embrace EMS as part of the fire service, Chief Lang oversaw the implementation of EMS within the Randolph Fire Department in 1976. Donations from the community provided the funding to purchase a new van from Wise Chevrolet as well as all the equipment needed to provide modern ambulance service. Chief Lang led the Department for 23 years and during this time his two sons Mike and Jim joined him serving the community.
My father, Mike Lang continued his father’s legacy in 1986 when he was appointed as the third Fire Chief. The 1980’s brought significant advancement in fire and EMS equipment as well as significant increases in call volume. To meet the challenges of a new era, many changes were necessary to continue providing the level of service our community needed. In 1987, the first fully custom built fire engine purchased by Randolph Township arrived and was placed in service. This was a desperately needed piece of equipment. Unfortunately during this time, the number of volunteer members available week-days followed the national downward trend. Chief Mike Lang oversaw the passage of a new EMS levy that provided funding for a full time paramedic position which was a huge advancement for an all volunteer department. In addition, Chief Mike Lang also oversaw the purchase of several pieces of new equipment including “jaws of life,” modern turnout gear that protected firefighters legs beyond just a long coat, a new state of the art cardiac monitor/defibrillator, and added a second ambulance to meet the EMS demand. Family participation also stayed strong during this era. Third generation members of the Wise family, Rick and Steve, joined the Department in the mid 1980s. Upon reaching high school age, all three of Chief Mike Lang’s sons, Adam, Dave and myself, joined the Department representing a fourth generation of Langs. As call volume increased to more than one call for service a day, Chief Mike Lang recognized the enormous time commitment required by members and began paying volunteers to respond on EMS calls. As call volume, department responsibilities, and training requirements continued upward over time, Chief Mike Lang then began supplementing EMS staffing needs with part time personnel. Modern equipment, increased training, and consistent staffing began to lay the foundation for the advancements and improvements in service delivery as well as the Department’s ISO classification rating that would come in the future.
After 23 years serving in the capacity of Fire Chief, Mike Lang retired from this position. I was appointed Fire Chief January 1, 2009. Following my great grandfather, grandfather and father, I felt I had enormous shoes to fill. For the past twelve and a half years I have served as the Randolph Fire Chief. During this time our request for service from the community has increased like never before. To meet the challenges I faced, a dynamic approach was necessary. Maintaining a strong roster of members was imperative. By developing the Viking Fire Academy, our high school cadet program flourished and eventually provided several new adult members. New, rewarding training programs helped to maintain the energy and excitement of our existing personnel. These things helped push our roster size to over 40 firefighters from within the community and has never dropped below since. We added a second full time member to help with EMS staffing shortages before finally adding a third that provided paramedic level care around the clock every day of the week. During this time we gained two fifth generation Langs when Adam Jr. and Gracie joined. Increased membership, increased training standards, and improved equipment allowed us to build on the previous administration’s foundation. This eventually led to our seemingly impossible to achieve ISO 2 rating. With staffing, training and equipment all in a good place, the community continued to support us and provided the funds to build the addition on to our fire station. Without question, this will support our current and foreseeable future operational needs.
With completion of the new addition, 24/7 staffing in place and passing a levy to support the Department’s current operations I felt that it was an appropriate time to step back. I retired from the position of Chief on June 30, 2022. Although I did not fill the role for 23 years like the previous three Chiefs, I feel that I served to the best of my ability during my twelve and a half years. I remain a member of the Department with nearly 27 years of total service along with my two bothers, my niece, my nephew and my uncle. I have passed the leadership torch to Chief Mark Hamilton who like myself, is a fourth generation Randolph Fireman but is also accompanied by his fifth generation son, Nolan.
Mike Lang Jr.
Randolph Fire Chief, Retired
The history of the Randolph Fire Department goes back more than 110 years and our family has been involved every step of the way. As most organizations do, the Randolph Fire Department had a very modest beginning that created the foundation for the department we know today. Few actual records were kept in the early years and much of the documentation relies on newspaper articles saved by members of our community.
One newspaper article dated May 12, 1961 reported that a dinner was held at the Randolph School gymnasium honoring our town’s firemen. At this dinner, Eber Brunner read a history of the fire department which began about 1912 when the men in the township began uniting to fight fires within the community. Randolph’s first fire truck was a hand drawn two-wheeler with a copper chemical tank filled with an extinguishing agent. This piece of equipment was stored inside the warehouse of Clement Lang’s store of general merchandise that stood on the corner where the gazebo is now located in the center of town. The Lang family was responsible for the cart’s maintenance and deployment when needed. In 1915 or 1916 the unit was moved across the street to the building most commonly known as Jenior Ford Sales and was replaced by a Ford Model T roadster with a tank. A second article discusses the formation of the Portage County Firemen’s Association in September of 1926. This association was called “the first of its kind in the State of Ohio.” Fire department representatives from Ravenna, Kent, Mantua, Atwater, Hiram, Windham, Garrettsville, and Randolph were all present. Another newspaper article dated February 22, 1930 reported that the house of Fred Ludlow caught fire and the Randolph Fire Department was called. Unfortunately, little other documentation exists about these early years.
The Randolph Fire Department was formally chartered with the State of Ohio on May 31,1940. Three members, H.D. Coler, Waldo Loomis and Claude Lang signed the charter incorporating the Randolph Volunteer Fire Company. This formalized our Department and brought forth many changes. In anticipation of this step, the old Model T and other existing outdated equipment was raffled off to help purchase a brand new fire engine. A 1940 Ford truck was purchased from Jenior Ford Sales and the fire truck body module was custom fabricated by Harry Wise in his service bays at Wise Chevrolet. My maternal great grandfather, Harry Wise was appointed as the first Fire Chief of the Randolph Fire Department. Other charter members from our family include my great grandfather Clement Lang and grandfather Claude Lang. Chief Wise led the Department for the next 23 years. During this time the Department grew and purchased more equipment. Three of Harry’s sons, Robert, my maternal grandfather Richard, and Russell all joined the Department as well. The next three fire trucks were all built on Chevrolet chassis with the fire truck body modules custom built by Chief Wise in the service department of Wise Chevrolet. Atwater Township was so impressed with one of his designs that they purchased a twin to the one he built for Randolph. This Chevrolet brush fire unit was delivered in August of 1962 and is still in service with the Atwater Fire Department today. Chief Wise passed away in 1962 after falling ill with pneumonia shortly after responding to a house fire that winter.
Following the death of Chief Wise, my grandfather, Claude Lang was appointed as the second Fire Chief of the Randolph Fire Department. Like his predecessor, Chief Lang oversaw growth and advancement within the Department. Chief Lang purchased new self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for our firefighters and also purchased the first fire engine to be built by a custom fire apparatus manufacturer. This truck was purchased in 1970 from Sutphen Corporation in Columbus, Ohio and was built on a Chevrolet Chassis from Wise Chevrolet. As the nation began to embrace EMS as part of the fire service, Chief Lang oversaw the implementation of EMS within the Randolph Fire Department in 1976. Donations from the community provided the funding to purchase a new van from Wise Chevrolet as well as all the equipment needed to provide modern ambulance service. Chief Lang led the Department for 23 years and during this time his two sons Mike and Jim joined him serving the community.
My father, Mike Lang continued his father’s legacy in 1986 when he was appointed as the third Fire Chief. The 1980’s brought significant advancement in fire and EMS equipment as well as significant increases in call volume. To meet the challenges of a new era, many changes were necessary to continue providing the level of service our community needed. In 1987, the first fully custom built fire engine purchased by Randolph Township arrived and was placed in service. This was a desperately needed piece of equipment. Unfortunately during this time, the number of volunteer members available week-days followed the national downward trend. Chief Mike Lang oversaw the passage of a new EMS levy that provided funding for a full time paramedic position which was a huge advancement for an all volunteer department. In addition, Chief Mike Lang also oversaw the purchase of several pieces of new equipment including “jaws of life,” modern turnout gear that protected firefighters legs beyond just a long coat, a new state of the art cardiac monitor/defibrillator, and added a second ambulance to meet the EMS demand. Family participation also stayed strong during this era. Third generation members of the Wise family, Rick and Steve, joined the Department in the mid 1980s. Upon reaching high school age, all three of Chief Mike Lang’s sons, Adam, Dave and myself, joined the Department representing a fourth generation of Langs. As call volume increased to more than one call for service a day, Chief Mike Lang recognized the enormous time commitment required by members and began paying volunteers to respond on EMS calls. As call volume, department responsibilities, and training requirements continued upward over time, Chief Mike Lang then began supplementing EMS staffing needs with part time personnel. Modern equipment, increased training, and consistent staffing began to lay the foundation for the advancements and improvements in service delivery as well as the Department’s ISO classification rating that would come in the future.
After 23 years serving in the capacity of Fire Chief, Mike Lang retired from this position. I was appointed Fire Chief January 1, 2009. Following my great grandfather, grandfather and father, I felt I had enormous shoes to fill. For the past twelve and a half years I have served as the Randolph Fire Chief. During this time our request for service from the community has increased like never before. To meet the challenges I faced, a dynamic approach was necessary. Maintaining a strong roster of members was imperative. By developing the Viking Fire Academy, our high school cadet program flourished and eventually provided several new adult members. New, rewarding training programs helped to maintain the energy and excitement of our existing personnel. These things helped push our roster size to over 40 firefighters from within the community and has never dropped below since. We added a second full time member to help with EMS staffing shortages before finally adding a third that provided paramedic level care around the clock every day of the week. During this time we gained two fifth generation Langs when Adam Jr. and Gracie joined. Increased membership, increased training standards, and improved equipment allowed us to build on the previous administration’s foundation. This eventually led to our seemingly impossible to achieve ISO 2 rating. With staffing, training and equipment all in a good place, the community continued to support us and provided the funds to build the addition on to our fire station. Without question, this will support our current and foreseeable future operational needs.
With completion of the new addition, 24/7 staffing in place and passing a levy to support the Department’s current operations I felt that it was an appropriate time to step back. I retired from the position of Chief on June 30, 2022. Although I did not fill the role for 23 years like the previous three Chiefs, I feel that I served to the best of my ability during my twelve and a half years. I remain a member of the Department with nearly 27 years of total service along with my two bothers, my niece, my nephew and my uncle. I have passed the leadership torch to Chief Mark Hamilton who like myself, is a fourth generation Randolph Fireman but is also accompanied by his fifth generation son, Nolan.
Mike Lang Jr.
Randolph Fire Chief, Retired
Former Randolph Volunteer Fire Department Chiefs
Harry Wise
1939 - 1961
Claude Lang
1962 - 1985
Mike Lang Sr.
1986 - 2008
Mike Lang Jr.
2009 - 2022
