During the early 1920’s the village of Grandview Heights and the surrounding area saw tremendous growth. Early in 1923, due to the increase in fire runs, the City of Columbus issued an order to halt fire service to Grandview unless the village agreed to a proposed tax valuation for fire service. Following the financial discord with the city of Columbus over fire protection, Grandview Heights Mayor Ryder refused Columbus’ proposal and worked to establish a fully independent fire department. In May 1923, a$30,000 bond was issued for a fire station, two fire trucks, staff and call boxes. The new building was completed and began operation August 8th, 1924.

The Grandview Heights Fire Department hired a Chief and two firefighters. Chief Mearl Klingensmith was appointed Fire Chief and provided living quarters at the station for him and his family. Grandview Heights first fire engine, “1 Pump” or Engine One, was a 1924 Seagrave Suburbanite and their second was a 1936 Seagrave ladder truck. Engine One made its first run to a grass fire near Goodale and Northwest Blvd. Engine One retired from active service in 1953. Both apparatuses are still owned and maintained by the department today.

To eliminate the redundancy and confusion of every fire department having an "Engine 1", as part of the Central Ohio Regional Emergency Services (CORES), the county fire chiefs developed a system where each type of emergency vehicle was identified by a specific function-based term, and every department was assigned a unique range of numbers for their apparatus. Grandview Heights Fire Station One changed to Station 51 in 1972.

Today the City of Grandview Heights Division of Fire still runs out of “Ole Station 1”making it the oldest firehouse in Franklin County Ohio. The department is a professional organization consisting of 21 personnel: 15 firefighter paramedics, 3 Captains, a Fire Marshal, 1 Assistant Chief and the Chief. They house 2 front line apparatus, Engine 51 & Medic 51, with a total of 2,572 runs in 2023. The department provides fire protection, prevention, investigation, emergency medical services, hazardous materials response and fire safety education programs for the residents andbusinesses of Grandview Heights and The Village of Marble Cliff, Ohio.