1909 - The first motorized vehicle was received by the department. It was a Packard automobile for the Fire Chief.
1913 - The Cincinnati Fire Department received it's first motorized firefighting apparatus when the city purchased 13 pumpers/hose wagons from Ahrens-Fox
1916 - The first motorized apparatus was received for a truck company. It was an Ahrens-Fox city service truck that was assigned to Ladder 3 - now Ladder 18.
1918 - The first rescue vehicle was received by the department. It was an Ahrens-Fox that was assigned to Squad 52 - now Rescue 14.
1921 - A significant milestone was reached - the Cincinnati Fire Department was now completely motorized.
1923 - An Ahrens-Fox was recieved for Ladder 7, and it would represent the last city service truck purchased by the department.
1928 - The last pumper with a piston pump was received.
1932 - Mack became the first manufacturer other than Ahrens-Fox used by the department. A Mack pumper was purchased and assigned to Engine 6.
1937 - The last ladder truck with a wooden aerial was received. It was a Mack that was assigned to Ladder 7.
1938 - Three Ahrens-Fox were purchased and they represented the first apparatus with an enclosed cab used by the department.
1941 - The Cincinnati Fire Department began it's long association with Seagrave Fire Apparatus. A Seagrave pumper was purchased for Engine 17 and a Seagrave ladder truck with a metal aerial was purchsed for Ladder 1.
1946 - The first American LaFrance fire apparatus was recieved. It was a ladder truck that was assigned to Ladder 5.
1949 - The department received 6 new pumper trucks, and they would be the last apparatus purchased from Ahrens-Fox.
1966 - A Seagrave tractor drawn aerial was received for Ladder 5. It would represent the last ladder truck purchased with an open cab.
1967 - Two Seagrave tractor drawn aerials were received and assigned to Ladder 1 and Ladder 6. They would represent the first cab forward apparatus purchased by the department, and also the first ladder trucks with a fixed-position tiller seat.
1968 - The first diesel powered apparatus was received by the department.
1972 - Seagrave custom built four pumper trucks for the department with four-door cabs that were fully enclosed. The new design was known as the "Cincinnati Cab" and was for the purpose of firefighter protection resulting from riot-related incidents that had taken place in previous years. The department also received three new Seagrave tractor drawn aerials, and they would represent the first ladder trucks with four-door cabs and enclosed tiller seats.
1982 - The first (and last) Pirsch fire apparatus was purchased by the department. It was tractor drawn aerial that was assigned to Ladder 1 - now Ladder 3.
1985 - Two new manufacturers were added to the roster when the department purchased 4 new pumper trucks from Sutphen and a heavy rescue truck from Saulsbury.
1986 - The department received four new Seagrave pumper trucks, and they would represent the last apparatus to be purchased with two-door cabs and an open jump seat area.
1990 - The department made the first change to the solid red paint scheme it had been using since it's inception. Four new Seagrave pumpers were purchased with a white reflective stripe on each side of the apparatus.
1992 - Two Seagrave tractor drawn aerials were received and assigned to Ladder 12 and Ladder 13. They would represent the last tractor drawn aerials purchased by the department.
1993 - The first of many E-One fire apparatus was purchased. Four E-One pumper trucks were received and placed into service.
1994 - A couple of significant changes took place with the department. The first rear-rount aerials arrived with the purchase of two E-One ladder trucks. In addition, the new aerials featured a brand new white over red paint scheme. Five E-One pumper trucks were also purchased and delivered in the new livery.
1996 - The department purchased six Ferrara pumper trucks built on Freightliner chassis to be used as dedicated spares. This was the first time the department placed new apparatus in service as a spare. It also represented the first purchase from Ferrara.
1997 - All ladder truck company numbers were changed to correspond with the station where the apparatus was assigned.
2000 - An end of an era was reached when the last tractor drawn aerial was removed from front-line service and became a spare. It was a 1992 Seagrave that was assigned to Ladder 32.
2002 - Ladder 3's 1994 E-One was the first rear mount aerial to be removed from front-line service when it became a spare.
2003 - The department completed it's largest single purchase when ten E-One pumper trucks were received. A slight change was made to the livery - "Cincinnati" was added to the front cab of the apparatus in the same script used for the company number.
2006 - A second heavy rescue company was established when Ladder 14 was reorganized as Squad 9. Also, at this time Squad 52 was renumbered as Squad 14 to reflect the station where it was assigned.
2007 - In conjunction with Dept of Homeland Security funding, the department received a pair of Mass Casualty Units and a pair of Decontamination Units. Built with Ford tenders and Hackney trailers, these are the first units of their type on the roster. Seagrave returned to the apparatus roster with the purchase of 3 new ladder trucks.
2008 - The department built their first new fire station in 26 years for Station 9. The larger facility allowed a second heavy rescue company to be established, and a new Spartan / Rosenbauer heavy rescue was acquired for the new Squad 9. This represented the first Rosenbauer apparatus purchase by the department.
2009 - The department added Rosenbauer pumper trucks to the fleet when eight new apparatus built on Spartan chassis were received and placed into service. The department also made additional changes to the livery with this purchase. A thin yellow stripe was added above and below the wide white stripe, and yellow/red chevrons were added to the front bumper and the rear of the vehicle. A new fire station was built for Engine 51 in North College Hill and a new medic unit began operating out of the much larger firehouse.
2011 - The unit designation for the heavy rescue companies was changed from Squad to Rescue. The EMS division was reorganized with all units designated as "Medic" units with ALS capability. The CFD purchased their first aerials from Rosenbauer - three new ladder trucks built on Spartan chassis were received and placed into service. The department also ordered four Rosenbauer pumper trucks which were placed into service in early 2012.
2012 - A significant change was made in the department as unit number graphics were added to all medic and staff vehicles. Previously the only exterior identification found on these vehicles was the department shop number. A second EMS Field Supervisor was established as ALS 32 running out of Station 32.
2013 - A new, much larger firehouse was built for Station 35. With the new station opening, Medic 21 was relocated to Station 35. A third EMS field supervisor was established out of Station 38 as ALS 38. The Safety Officer was a newly created position that responds to 1 alarm or greater fires and other specified incidents. The radio designation is SO2 and the unit responds out of Station 14.
2014 - Three new ambulances were purchased from Horton.
2015 - A new 100' aerial ladder truck was purchased from Rosenbauer, it marked a return to a single-axle design.
