Department History

On February 26, 1980, the Village of Ashwaubenon board of Trustees established the current Ashwaubenon Department of Public Safety.  Prior to the establishment of the department, fire services to the community were provided by a volunteer fire company organized in 1942 with 10 charter members and one pumper.  In 1955, the department found a permanent home on the corner of Cormier and Ashland Avenue with 18 members and an annual budget of $1,369.03. 

In February 1967, Ashwaubenon and the Brown County Sheriff’s Department entered into a contact for one year of protection.  By 1977, the contract was increased to two officers.  This arrangement with Brown County was terminated in August of 1981 after the Department of Public Safety had successfully completed its first year.

In 1973, five Ashwaubenon citizens concerned for the lack of adequate emergency medical services decided to incorporate a unit that would service the Town of Ashwaubenon exclusively.  By 1974 the rescue squad was made up of 14 members.  The squad continued to grow in the seventies expanding to 29 members by 1977.  These volunteers would schedule their hours around their normal employment hours, responding from their homes with the ambulance and picking up a crew on the way to a call. 

In 1977, three fulltime Emergency Medical Technicians were hired.  The squads were housed in what is now Station No. 2 on Ponderosa Avenue.  In 1978, the Village of Ashwaubenon granted permission for six members of the Rescue Squad to attend paramedic training forming the first State of Wisconsin certified paramedics.

In 1979 the now “Village” of Ashwaubenon, seeing similarities of both their fire and rescue departments voted to merge the two agencies into one Fire/Rescue Department. Once fire and rescue were merged, it seemed a natural progression to look into the possibility of creating a Public Safety Department.  By 1979 there was growing support for Ashwaubenon to form its own police department.  After nearly six months of study the village board voted unanimously on February 26, 1980, to implement a Public Safety Department.  On August 4, 1980, the first 24-hour tour of duty began for the Ashwaubenon Department of Public Safety.

Starting in 2004, the department developed a career development path for the officers, starting with a PSO I as a probationary officer that works a police night patrol shift.  Officers start their career working a six on, three off rotation on patrol. This  allows the department to provide police, fire and EMT training while supporting the department and officers as they train. A PSO II works one of the three 24-hour shifts and is an officer that is certified in all three fields: police, fire, and EMT.  The final step is a PSO III, an officer certified in all fields along with being a paramedic.

As the Village grows and develops, Public Safety continues to grow.  In 2022, the Village board authorized three new positions to help support our officers and provide the needed resources to our community to maintain safety and security.  Today, the department has grown to 54 sworn officers with a budget of over $9 million. We are committed in maintaining a safe community for the many residents and visitors that live, work, and play in Ashwaubenon.