In October of 1892, the "little city" was chartered Manchester after The Manchester Investment Company. Old  histories say that a bucket brigade first answered fire calls. Later came the Hand-reel, and according to the histories it was not unusual for the firefighters to be too tired to use the equipment after running with it to the scene of a fire. 

In January of 1896, after a contest for a new name, College Park was selected. The College Park Fire Department was first organized as a volunteer organization. The first mechanized apparatus consisted of a 1913 and a 1918 Ford state trucks. Both carried fire fighting equipment and hose but did not have a pump or tank. The city’s first hydrants appeared around the same time.

In 1925 the City’s first Triple-combination pumper was delivered. It was a 1924 American La France Type 40 with a 600 gpm Two-stage rotary gear pump with a 40 gal chemical tank. Known as “Betsy” faithfully served the Department as a frontline apparatus until 1951 when it was acquired by American Legion Post 50. 

“Betsy” returned to the department in 1986 and is currently housed at Station 2.

1928 was the year of our heaviest fire losses, one of the biggest fires in College Park history was when the Creel Lumber Company burned. By way of comparison,  in 1936 we were ranked 2nd in the state for smallness of fire losses of 17cents per capita. 

In 1938 the first of many Pirsch fire apparatus was purchased, it was mounted on a Chevy chassis and served until 1964. During its service it saw the department hire the first six paid members in 1940.

In the 1950's, the Department moved Station 1 into a new building located at
1879 Columbia Ave. (current location).

In 1958 a Mack B-85 (one of 2 in the metro Atlanta area) was purchased with a 750 gpm pump and 300 gal tank. It served the department until 1986 when it was traded with the American Legion for “Betsy”. The American Legion still owns the Mack today.

In 1970 a new Station 2 was opened on Sullivan road (current location).

The first yellow fire truck purchased by the department was a 1976 Ford Segrave midi-pumper that was destroyed when it was broad-sided that same year. An identical Ford Segrave replaced it in 1977. In 1978 the last Segrave (the last yellow fire apparatus) was bought.

In 1996 as part of the departments 100-year celebration, the department purchased its first Pierce apparatus, a 100’ aerial platform ladder and served as the "flagship" of our department . Since then the department has converted its entire fleet over to Pierce. Tower 1 was replaced by Truck 1 in 2008.

In 2006 the department moved into a "State of the Art" Public Safety Facility located at 3737 College Street.

In 2007 the department was renamed College Park Fire Rescue.