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Pflugerville on Fire
Our first episode drops August 31! This podcast mini-series will inform you about the initiative to defund the Pflugerville Fire Department. Listen on all major podcasting platforms. Subscribe to get the latest episodes. We have some great guests lined up!
Pflugerville on Fire
Ron Moellenberg and the Heart of the Community
Ever wondered how a small volunteer fire department can transform into a thriving Emergency Services District? Join us as we sit down with former Fire Chief Ron Moellenberg, who has been a cornerstone of the Pflugerville Fire Department since 1977. From the earnest beginnings of bake sales and street dances to the landmark formation of the Rural Fire Prevention District in 1985, Chief Moellenberg shares riveting stories that highlight the department's evolution and the community's unwavering support. Gain unique insights into the grit and camaraderie that helped shape the department into the professional entity it is today.
Through Chief Moellenberg's captivating anecdotes, we explore the challenges and triumphs that came with limited resources and the pre-911 era, emphasizing a time when community self-reliance was paramount. As the department grew alongside the city, adapting to its changing needs, the shared dedication of the volunteers became the bedrock of its success. Listen in as we also discuss contemporary issues, such as the potential impacts of repealing sales tax on the department's capacity to serve. This episode is a heartfelt tribute to the resilience and commitment of the Pflugerville Fire Department and its enduring significance to the community.
Fox alarm in ESD 2 Fox.
Ron Moellenberg:The Pflugerville Fire Department represents the core and the heart of the city of Pflugerville and better than that, the community of Pflugerville, which goes beyond that. The Fire Department has worked hard over many decades to conserve this community with a very high level of commitment, service and capability. And to take away from the department, to defund it at this point, will set it back. The voters need to understand that money. The voters need to understand that money. Their demand for that money will immediately be placed upon the city of Pflugerville. They want that money and there are city fathers that are saying, when we get that money, this is what we're going to do.
Ron Moellenberg:I promise you it will not be spent on emergency services.
Chris Wolff:Welcome to Pflugerville on Fire. I'm, your host Chris Wolff,. Today it was my privilege to interview Ron
Chris Wolff:Moellenberg . He's the former chief of the fire department. He was raised in Pflugerville. He's an army veteran and former city council member. He joined the fire department in 1976 and and in this episode we're going to talk about the history of the department and its relationship to a rural farming community that was Pflugerville before the incorporation of the city. We'll talk about how the department came to provide EMS service, and Chief will talk to us about how the repeal of sales tax will impact the department that he served for more than 40 years. All right, so no podcast about the Pflugerville Fire Department would be complete without an interview from you Ron Moellenberg Mullenberg. You were the chief of the department since the 1970s, is that right?
Chris Wolff:well, I was in the department since the 1970s, so late 70s, you know, early 80s, when I finally became chief. Oh, okay, seemed like forever for me.
Chris Wolff:Right, but who knew you would go on to be the chief for the next three decades? Yeah, that's amazing. So, chief, tell us a little bit about what was the Pflugerville Fire Department like when you joined as a volunteer.
Ron Moellenberg:Well, the volunteer fire department was a collection and at that time, all men of the community and you know, we got together because there was felt to be a higher calling to serve the community, neighbors and friends. It was also a place to get together, you know, and have fellowship. You know we didn't have iPhones and texting, so there was more human contact, if you will, and that was one way that we did it, so we would get together and take care of business and then socialize for a while in the evening. Sounds fun, it was.
Chris Wolff:It really was. What kind of equipment did you have? What kind of training were you guys doing?
Ron Moellenberg:Well, training was very rudimentary, In fact. I remember a couple of us younger guys decided that we wanted more training because we needed to learn more about the equipment we were using and modern firefighting, if you will. So we would go to. A&m to the fire school and bring back the skills that we learned and share them with the rest of the fellows in the department. Our equipment at that time was very rudimentary and by today's standards would be almost laughable.
Ron Moellenberg:We had what would be classified as a couple of booster trucks. You know they classified as a couple of booster trucks Pumping 250 gallons a minute would be the extreme that they were capable of. That'd be big water for them. That was big water. We never really attempted to flow big water because water supply was also a big problem. We had one 2,000 gallon tanker that was probably thought to have. Something like that came from the big fire in 71.
Chris Wolff:And to put it in perspective for our listeners our new Ferraras have 2,000 gallon per minute pumps on them.
Ron Moellenberg:So that tells you the difference how far we've come. Yeah, you know, we were doing the best we can training in-house, but not much in the way of technique and knowledge about fire science. So it was kind of a learn as you go, not as we went along, Kind of the wild west it was.
Chris Wolff:So I want to ask you if you could describe how did the fire department grow up alongside with the city? And I'll say, like a lot of the volunteers have streets and neighborhoods named after them today. What was that like the next 30 years?
Ron Moellenberg:Well, growth out here I felt at the time and of course I got a lot younger and more impatient was slow to come Pflugerville as a community actually the philosophy of community was much larger than it was today. I grew up over, off of Howard Lane, which we don't even really think much of it as being Pflugerville per se, especially Howard Lane toward McNeil. But as Austin was growing and expanding, people were wanting to as they do today, want to get away from the center of the community and they were moving out into the country and they were beginning to find that there were lots to develop and houses that they could build, and so people began coming in this direction and that's how we started growing. You know, the joke was that somebody turned off a 35 one day and found that there was this quaint community and so they wanted to.
Chris Wolff:That's how I found it Exactly.
Ron Moellenberg:And that changed the demand on the fire department, because, as volunteers, not only did we have to train, keep the equipment up, respond to in those days what seemed like a street dances, anything we could think of to help pay the bills. And you know, fortunately. You know we used to fuel right across from where the main station is now, where the big Texaco is. That was a local service station. We ran a fuel bill there and there was a time when we couldn't even pay our fuel bill. Wow, just to keep the trucks running. Just to keep the trucks running.
Chris Wolff:Wow, and so that kind of segments into staying with that same question, because you guys were a rural. Today the department is an ESD Emergency Services District and then, prior to that, it was like a rural fire district. Is that right?
Ron Moellenberg:Well, in I think 1985, we realized that there was an opportunity under state law to form a rural fire prevention district and in those days, and even up until the demise of all the RFPDs, the taxing rate limit was three cents per 100. And that turned out to be big money by comparison to the bake sales. The street dances yeah, one of the last street dances that we did I was the chairman of the committee we netted $89. We did, I was the chairman of the committee, we netted $89. And I said the next year I was going to just write a check and I'd go to the football game.
Ron Moellenberg:But the opportunity to become a Rural Fire Prevention District really was a changing point for the department with respect to modernization. We actually were able, in that first funding, to buy bunker gear set for each firefighter Wow. And we were able to put radios in the trucks Wow. We began to talk about training some of our people to be EMS first responders. So I would think that we could almost point to that as being a pivot point for the department to change directions.
Chris Wolff:And this is a great topic. So if you were living out here in the part of the district that is a neighborhood now, it was probably very rural in the mid-80s and you fell off the roof and broke a leg or shattered a pelvis, what was going to happen?
Ron Moellenberg:Well, you see, it wasn't until the late 80s even that we had 911 systems. So you would dial the local fire department or you would dial an ambulance service Wow. And then you would wait for it to arrive and in those days most people would take care of business themselves, load up, load up and go find a hospital. So things were changing and, as you pointed out, it was rural open area.
Chris Wolff:You know people, you know, did as they did in the old days, they managed. I'm kind of a nostalgic person. I love old Pflugerville, even though I'm a new resident. We have Station 7, which you're very familiar with out there at the training field, and if you get a call out at Station 7, something has gone wrong, because those people do not call 911 unless it's going down has gone wrong because those people do not call 911 unless it's going down.
Ron Moellenberg:Well, and that's that you know, typical way, this community Out of seven, you're still dealing with some of the old original settlers, if you will, of the community and they just take care of business.
Chris Wolff:Yeah, that's great.
Chris Wolff:So can you talk about? How did the city and the fire department come to grow apart then?
Ron Moellenberg:Well, I don't know that there was ever a close partnership between the city and the fire department. Understand that the fire department predates the city of Pflugerville. I think a minute ago I mentioned about how large the Pflugerville community was before there was a city and in fact I don't think the city of Pflugerville incorporated until 1968. So there was no formal government as such until that year. And being a young city with acquiring a bunch of problems water distribution, street repair and everything that goes with it they didn't have, or the city fathers of that time did not have the resources to worry with the fire department. I think they were just grateful that we got the job done without calling upon them for help. Right, and in fact, at one point in those early years the main water well for Pflugerville collapsed and there was literally literally no water in the community. Oh my gosh. And I went to Clarence Bowles, the mayor at that time, and I suggested to Clarence that we start running a water shuttle from up on I-35 in Pamela Heights near.
Ron Moellenberg:Flasher Lane from a city of Austin, water hydrant and shuttle water to the main water tower in Pflugerville. Wow, and we started doing that and we ran it around the clock. Of course you can imagine 2,000 gallons of water At a time.
Ron Moellenberg:Oh my, yes, but it was a dire emergency and you know there was no thought, no question of reimbursement from the city or anybody else, it was just that we had to do it Right. And so to claim that there was a close partnership, I think that's an exaggeration and you know I've had many conversations with the city fathers and I was even once a city councilman here and there was really no impetus to put the two together because of the demand on resources that the city had to meet and the fire department trying to maintain itself. And, mind you, that was at the time the department's demand, or demand for department services was growing.
Chris Wolff:Right. So a lot of people will say, hey, they're not even the Pflugerville Fire Department, and that's why I have to remind people is the Pflugerville Fire Department predates the city of Pflugerville.
Ron Moellenberg:Oh, exactly, and I think, if anything, the Pflugerville Fire Department represents the core and the heart of the city of Pflugerville, the core and the heart of the city of Pflugerville and, better than that, the community of Pflugerville, which goes beyond that. I mean, look at, we call it Pflugerville ISD, and so the analogy is there. Pflugerville is bigger than what the city fathers would want to say grace over today, correct?
Chris Wolff:Yeah, that's interesting. So basically you're saying the community of Pflugerville is a lot bigger than the city limits.
Ron Moellenberg:Oh, yes, without a doubt. And I mean you can go talk to people all around the city of Pflugerville. They have no regard for the city limits, they're Pflugervillians. Right, my kids go to Pflugerville school. Right for the city of Lemus. They're Pflugervillians, my kids go to Pflugerville school, right?
Chris Wolff:So I'm a Pflugervillian, right. I promised our listeners that we would keep this to about 20 minutes and we're doing really well. I'd like to kind of transition from everything that you've seen and all your experience and everything you've dedicated to the fire department being the chief of it. What do you see the future looking like for the Pflugerville Fire Department?
Ron Moellenberg:Well, I think it's going to be a difficult future. We're obviously facing tough times now. The city fathers some of the city fathers are motivated by things that I don't think are in the spirit of community. They of course are focused on rapid growth, big development, and a lot of the efforts that are being driven here are not in the favor of what I think the Pflugerville spirit. So I see difficult times.
Ron Moellenberg:The fire department has worked hard over many decades to conserve this community with a very high level of commitment, service and capability, and to take away from the department, to defund it at this point, will set it back, and I understand the bad feelings over EMS service right now. Flickerville Fire Department per se would not have been involved in EMS had it not been for an acute demand for their service. It not been for an acute demand for their service. When we began transitioning toward EMS service there was one Austin ambulance out here and the Austin-Travis County EMS system is city-centric and I would watch that ambulance make the first collision at 8 o'clock in the morning and we wouldn't see it for the rest of the day because it would just get sucked down.
Ron Moellenberg:The higher priority was to the population density in the city of austin. That's why we began training our first responders to be emts, and then we grew to the need for paramedics because we didn't have advanced life support on the street in this city. We moved toward one ambulance to supplement by then the two ambulances that Austin had out here.
Ron Moellenberg:Again they were gone. Our one ambulance would go to Austin and come back, and then the two ambulances for Austin disappeared off the scene for service out here, and so we had to step in the breach and fill that breach.
Chris Wolff:But the whole time committed to high quality service, that was mark one for me and all of the fire department Now, Chief, I heard you ran those two Austin Travis Academy ambulances out of the city. You didn't even want them in here.
Ron Moellenberg:I begged them to stay, because what happened when the doors got pulled down on those two units? I was left in a lurch, literally like the little boy with the finger in his hole in the dike. It was maddening Many, many sleepless nights about how to fill the gap, how to step up and bring people up to the level of training that I would trust them with my mother or your mother, right.
Chris Wolff:So people talk about, you know, the defunding or the repealing of the sales tax and they say, hey, you know, you guys are supposed to provide EMS. You're not doing it. We want a refund on that money. What would you say to them?
Ron Moellenberg:Well, we acquired the service. We were not mandated to acquire that service. Our charge was not that. But we did step in the breach and to say that the taxpayers are due that money back. Well, that means the service goes away and somebody's going to pay that bill. And to use a private service, you know, I'd be preaching to the choir if I talked about the quality of that service compared to those firefighters in these fire stations that do what they do every day, absolutely, and under strict supervision and strict quality control.
Ron Moellenberg:That is non-existent in the private system. Remember, private systems are for profit.
Ron Moellenberg:There's one other thing,
Ron Moellenberg:Chris to think about. So if this group that wants to defund the fire department by taking away sales tax, the voters need to understand that money. Their demand for that money will immediately be placed upon the city of Pflugerville. They want that money and they are city fathers that are saying when we get that money, this is what we're going to do. I promise you it will not be spent on emergency services.
Chris Wolff:And that's rough, for I mean you still have loved ones in this community. You know, most of my loved ones are in this community, like we keep saying we deserve better.
Ron Moellenberg:Yes, the people in this community deserve better. They have had better and it will be a travesty when they have to depend on a private service to come get them.
Chris Wolff:Well, chief, it's an honor to have you on the show. Thank you so much for everything you did. You were the chief when I came on the department and I was saying that my mom was very impressed at your speech during our pinning ceremony. So thanks so much for coming on.
Ron Moellenberg:It's been my pleasure and I hope that the city of Pflugerville and the fire department can figure this partnership thing out and make it work in the right way, right All right, thank you.
Chris Wolff:Thanks for tuning in. We're striving to gain an understanding about the sales tax repeal and we received some great historical context of where it all began. We're looking forward to airing more episodes to provide context and clarity, and we've been reaching out to leaders on both sides of the issues. Tune in for more Pflugerville on Fire.
