In one of Modesto’s newest housing developments, street signs carry nearly 150 years of fire service history.
The subdivision, near Merle Avenue and Claus Road, has roads named after former members of the Modesto Fire Department. At the center of the neighborhood, plans call for a firefighter-themed park and memorial space honoring those who shaped and sacrificed for the department.
The Fire Department traces its roots to 1875, when volunteers responded to fires with hand-drawn hose carts. In 1911, George Wallace Sr. became the department’s first paid fire chief, helping transform it into a modern municipal service…