Fire has un-written the history of Whitmore. The houses were made of wood, the roofs had wood shingles, and wood-burning stoves were used for cooking and heating. House fires, usually caused by chimney sparks, were regular events. When asked for photographs, Whitmore residents often answered, "They burned up in the fire." In the early 1900s, the houses of Lena Buszdieker Childs and Eva Breuner Moore in Whitmore burned down seven times.

Before 1976 there was not really any fire protection in Whitmore. The California Department of Forestry was not on duty twenty-four hours a day during the summer, and not in Whitmore at all during the winter.

In 1976 Jaunita and Ray Boggs donated a half acre of land to the Whitmore Volunteer Fire Company for a fire hall. The first fund raiser for the Fire Company raised $143. From July 1978 to June 1979 there were 650 volunteer hours of labor. The cement was poured for the Fire hall on Saturday, Sept. 30, 1978. The metal fire hall building cost $4,300, and material worth more than $2,500 was donated. That year the company responded to thirty fires, forty-three medical calls and trained for fifteen-hundred hours. The bylaws of the company:

The Whitmore Volunteer Fire Company is organized for the purpose of preventing or controlling the loss of life or property from the effects of fire or other emergencies that may fall within the scope of the duties or capabilities of the fire company.

The first fund raising events
An event to raise money for the community was reported in the May 10, 1978 Redding Record Searchlight :

The Whitmore Mountain Spring Art Fair proceeds will help Whitmore School and the Whitmore Volunteer Fire Company Fire Hall Construction. . . . At 10 a.m. a parade will feature antique cars, horse-drawn wagons, floats and the Enterprise High School band and drill team. Arts and crafts will be sold and there will be a Bavarian-style "bier-garten." There will also be an auction and booths can be rented by organizations.

Whitmore earned $1,000 and donations were $1,925. The Whitmore Fire Company Auxiliary
The Whitmore Volunteer Fire Company Auxiliary was formed in 1976 to support the Fire Company. November 1979 was the first Auxiliary Christmas sale. The minutes said that during June 1979, The Whitmore Fire Company Volunteers were going to choose a contractor to straighten the fire house beams and to put the roof and outsides on. The volunteers would do the wiring, bathrooms, kitchen and inside work. A letter went out to the residents of Whitmore:

The Whitmore Volunteer Fire Company had its first call on March 30, 1976. We have had 30 calls since then. Twenty-one have been rescues and nine have been fires, fortunately no structures.

The community of Whitmore has donated hundreds of dollars worth of medical equipment and supplies, but we have been slow to respond to emergencies. We've had to stop at our storage facility and pick up equipment in our private cars. What is needed is a vehicle equipped with our medical supplies. This along with continued medical training is our rescue goal. Your memorial contribution is greatly appreciated and will help us to attain this goal. The family and friends of Nell Priddy have been notified of your generosity and community concern, Sincerely, Daryl L. Harris, Chief Whitmore Volunteer Fire Co.

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