History
In the beginning, Benton’s fire protection was provided by concerned citizens in the early 1950’s with a pump and tank mounted on a trailer. When a call was received, the first firefighter to arrive at the station would pull the trailer to the fire.
On October 12, 1953, the Town of Benton formally organized the Benton Volunteer Fire Department and continued to serve Benton and the surrounding areas until January 1989.
The Bossier Parish Police Jury created Benton Fire District No. 4 on November 10, 1987, BPPJ Ordinance No. 2096 of 1987. The first 10-mil Maintenance and Operations tax was passed in April 1988. The fire district began providing fire protection for the Town of Benton on January 1, 1989. The fire district was comprised of one paid daytime firefighter and volunteer firefighters. A 1.5 million dollar bond issue was passed in October 1989 to fund five new two bay fire stations and nine new engines.
In May 1997, a renewal for the 10-mil Maintenance and Operations tax was passed. An additional 10-mil tax was passed in July 1998 to fund the hiring of a full-time Fire Chief and firefighters. This also allowed for the purchase of a ladder truck and rescue unit.
In 2011, Benton Fire District #4 opened Station #2 with three 24 hour shifts. This brought the full time forces to one captain and three firefighters at Station #1 and a captain and one firefighter at Station #2. On October 2, 2015, the District hired seven more firefighters and promoted 3 captains to open Station #3 on Swan Lake Rd.