In 1972 the Jackson Township Fire Association was formed by a vote of the people of the township. At that time, three trustees were elected to begin the groundwork - Frank Weirather, Bobby White, and Don Hardin. Powdertown was selected as the central point in the township, following a survey ordered by the County Supervisors, and made by Krebill Engineering Co. Land was purchased along W-62 and a building was erected at what now is known as 3640 Argyle Road. Two military trucks were leased from the Iowa Conservation Commission, and these were modified to be used as tankers to haul water. One of them was built specifically by the volunteers to control grass and brush fires. A stainless bulk milk tank was bought in November of 1972 for one of the trucks and the other truck tank was donated to the department. In February 1973, a 1949 International Truck was bought from the Plain Fire Protection District at Plain, Wisconsin. Additional equipment was bought as money became available. In March 1974, six fire alert radios were purchased. A 1959 Ford Fire Truck was bought from the Nauvoo, Illinois Fire Department in July 1977, and an addition was built in November 1978 to house all the trucks. A meeting room was completed in 1981 along with a rest room and another 3 bays were added in 1994. A fire-damaged mobile home was obtained for training in the use of SCBA. This trailer was used 12 years. In July 1982, a 1961 International 500 gallon per minute, front mounted pumper was bought from West Burlington, Iowa Fire Department. The volunteers purchased a two-way fire radio for this truck. Several engines have been purchased in the past 10 years in an attempt to upgrade the fleet. Currently the Association has 3 engines, 2 tankers and an utility/brush truck.

The Association has been the recipient of two federal Assistance to Firefighters grants, a State of Iowa Dry Hydrant grant and several utility and private trust grants. These grants has enabled the Association to purchase new bunker gear, SCBA's, breathing air compressor, fill station, thermal imaging camera and to train and certify every firefighter as Firefighter 1.

The Association has had four Fire Chiefs in its history, Ralph Castle, Ron Summers, Mike Diviney and Paul Henson (current chief). The average age of the members is 41 years old with the youngest being 21 and the oldest 71. Tenure on the Association ranges from just over 1 year to 32 years with 70% serving over 5 years.