Firewhirl: History Archives

Antique Oregon Fire Apparatus Needs Building

I enjoy museums and fire service history, so what better than a fire museum!

The Oregon Fire Services Museum is looking to put up a building to house their apparatus. Here is a good article from The Register-Guard that describes the equipment they have and their plans to build their museum.

TANGENT - Here they sit. Some of them. Motionless. No sirens blaring, no more fires to race toward, no firemen riding the tailboard.

Just sitting, unbuffed, in a moving and storage garage.

Not exactly a museum; not exactly an honorary locale.

There is nifty slide show of some of the apparatus. The slide show has audio of a couple of the guys on the museum board talking about their plans. Good stuff!

Winecoff Hotel Fire - December 7, 1946

Sixty years ago the Winecoff Hotel burned in Atlanta, GA. Winecoffhotelfire.com has lots of details about the incident.

The Winecoff Hotel Fire of 1946 held the unenviable honor of being known as the deadliest hotel fire in the world and maintained that title until 1971 when one hundred and sixty-two people lost their lives in a hotel fire in Seoul, South Korea. The Winecoff remains, to this day, the worst hotel fire in American history. The fate of this once glamorous and celebrated hotel is unclear, but one thing is certain, it must never be forgotten.

Firefighter Wayne's Last Post

Firefighter Wayne over at Firefighter has published his last post. Wayne has tons of historical knowledge of the fire service and he created a blog to share that knowledge. If you haven't had the chance to read some of his posts, take a few minutes and read a few. Here is a link to his first post.

Thanks for sharing your stories, memories, and history with us, Wayne!

Dry Powder Foam

Over at Firefighter, Wayne has posted a picture of a dry powder foam eductor. I've never heard of dry powder foam. If you've heard of this type of system and have some info, please send me an email.

Fire Museum to Close

The New England Fire & History Museum in Brewster, MA, is closing temporarily (from the Cape Cod Times).

And now, the New England Fire & History Museum, has announced it will not open this year.

Noel Beyle, who sits on the fire museum's board of directors, said the board decided not to open this summer, so it could inventory the collection and develop new programs and funding sources.

The board hopes to reopen the museum in the spring, he said.

This museum relies on volunteer help and admission fees to keep it running. If you live up in that area, I'm sure they would appreciate a helping hand. If you don't live near there, a donation would give them a boost.

Aurora FD Celebrates 150th Anniversary

The Aurora Fire Department located in Aurora, IL, is celebrating their 150th anniversary. Check out their website and this newspaper article from The Beacon News.

If you let me know of a significant anniversary (100th, 125th, 150th, etc.) for your department, I'll post about it. Just send the info via e-mail or leave a comment.

9/11 Firefighter Monument

Photo couresty of Rambusch Decorating Company.

A monument dedicated to the 343 firefighters that were killed on 9/11 was unveiled recently (from The New York Times).

The first large-scale 9/11 monument at ground zero — a bold, literal and almost neo-Classical 56-foot-long bronze relief dedicated to the firefighters "who fell and to those who carry on" — was unveiled yesterday on the side of "10 House," the home of Engine Company 10 and Ladder Company 10, across Liberty Street from the World Trade Center.

Follow the link. There is an interactive feature with a picture of the entire bas relief that can be viewed.

Next time I'm in New York, this will be a must-see.

John T. Brennan Fire Museum

A fire museum is set to reopen (from The Jersey Journal):

The Bayonne Fire Department will mark its 100th birthday later this summer with a parade and post-parade party on the lower level of 16th Street Park.

As part of the Sept. 9 celebration - six days after the actual anniversary date - the department's brass plan to put out a souvenir journal and invite the public to see the fruits of long hours spent renovating and maintaining the John T. Brennan Fire Museum on West 47th Street off Broadway.

...

Among the artifacts still remaining are an ancient, manually operated, horse-drawn pumper and a well-traveled 1840 hose cart, originally used by New York, then by a post-Civil War southern state, then the Peekskill, N.Y., Fire Department and, finally, Bayonne.

Sounds cool. If you are near Bayonne, NJ, stop by and check it out.

Congratulations to the Bayonne Fire Department for hitting the century mark. Have a great celebration!

Display of Old Fire Engines in Helsinki

Check out the pictures of the old fire engines from Helsinki, Finland (from People's Daily Online). I like the snappy outfits!

Photo courtesy of People's Daily Online.

Note the speaking trumpet around the neck of the fellow on the right. It is slightly curved. All of the trumpets I've seen are straight.

There are more pictures, just follow the link.

Silsby Engine and Fire Hydrants

Lots of good posts over at Fire Service History. I especially enjoyed the post on Silsby Steam Engines and the post on Fire Hydrants. There are some excellent pictures in both.

Check 'em out.

Dalmations

Do you want to know why dalmations have been associated with the fire service? Read this article posted over at Wayne's Firefighter blog. Here is a small excerpt:

Ever see a fire truck in a parade without a Dalmatian in the seat up front or in the lap of a smiling fireman riding in back? Ever visit a firehouse without having one of those black and white spotted dogs come wagging up to you?

Why is that? Why do Dalmations and firehouses go together like smoke and fire? The answer is interesting, and one you'll likely recall every time you see the Dalmation/firehouse combo from now on.

Good stuff!

Once a Fire Horse, Always a Fire Horse

Here is a nice article about an old fire horse and a milk wagon (from LAFD Historical Archive via Firefighter).

One day, my father bought "Old Frank." He wasn't our first horse to pull the milk wagon, but he was the best. We purchased him shortly before World War I from the Hannibal Fire Department.

Why we called him "Old Frank" I've never known, but it was likely because the horse-drawn fire-fighting rigs in those days required young horses with speed, strength, stamina and intelligence, and Frank had apparently gotten too old for that job.

He was 9 years old when we got him. He had a teammate, "Fox," who was purchased for the milk wagon operated by our friendly competitor, Bross and Bier Dairy. Both were Percherons, and both had been through the training school for "fire horses."

Be sure to read the whole article. Fire horses and milk wagons make for an interesting combination!

Historic Firefighting Display in Peoria

A new historic firefighting display is open to the public (from HOINews.com).

The days of horse drawn fire carts and some of the largest fire-fights in Peoria's history are being re-lived this week.

A group of Bradley University students organized an exhibit called the "Great Halls of Fire" to showcase the history of the Peoria Fire Department.

...

The exhibit is free and open to the public, but organizers do ask for a $5 donation. It will go to the Peoria Historical Societ. The Great Halls of Fire will be open Monday through Friday this week from noon until 7 p.m. It's at the Pettengill-Morron House on Moss Ave. in Peoria.

If you are in that area it would be a good way to spend an afternoon.

Fire Trucks to be Auctioned

Lots of fire trucks that were collected over a 30 year period will be auctioned off via sealed bids (from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette).

DENBO, Pa. -- Lined up one by one like old soldiers dressed in red and white uniforms, dozens of decommissioned firetrucks await their fate in a parking lot along the Monongahela River near this tiny Washington County community.

More than four dozen of the old firetrucks, some dating back more than 70 years, will be part of a sealed-bid auction this week in what could be the largest mass firetruck auction ever. The bids will be opened March 22.

The trucks are among 135 fire vehicles collected over at least three decades by the late Sullivan D'Amico, founder of Pechin's Shopping Village in Fayette County. Mr. D'Amico died in February 2005 at the age of 87.

If you are looking for an historic fire engine, this could be your chance.

Here is the auctioneer's website for more details.

Peoria FD Historical Exhibit

If you live in the area, check out an historical exhibit courtesy of the Peoria Fire Department (from PJStar.com).

PEORIA - Artifacts, photographs and memorabilia chronicling the history of the Peoria Fire Department will go on exhibit April 9-15 at the Pettengill-Morron House, 1212 W. Moss Ave.

Wish I lived close enough to go.

Historic Fire Engines from Europe

If you like pictures of old fire engines this is the site for you. Check out Historical Fire Engines Europe to see lots of pictures of older fire engines from England, France, Switzerland, Norway, and others. There are some American-made trucks such as Ford, Dodge, Ahrens Fox, and Ward LaFrance. Then there are European-made trucks such as Mercedes, Studebaker, Renault, and Volvo. Cool site.

I took a quick pass through some of the pictures and here is one of my favorites - a Magirus ladder truck from 1921 used in the Netherlands.

Famous People That Were Firefighters

Firefighter Wayne over at his blog called Firefighter has lots of interesting posts about the history of firefighting. This caught my eye from today's post:

BEING A VOLUNTEER WAS A STEPPING STONE INTO POLITICS.

SEVEN NEW YORK MAYORS,
EIGHTEEN ST. LOUIS MAYORS
AND
TWO PRESIDENTS STARTED THEIR CAREERS AS VOLUNTEER FIREMEN.
THE TWO PRESIDENTS WERE
JAMES BUCHANAN, UNION COMPANY, LANCASTER PENNSYLVANIA
AND
MILLARD FILLMORE, OF BUFFALO'S EAGLE HOSE

ALSO, SOME OF THE SIGNERS OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE STARTED OUT AS VOLUNTEER FIREMEN,
JOHN HANDCOCK,
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
JAMES WILSON,
DR. BENJAMIN RUSH,
GEORGE CLYMER,
FRANCIS HOPKINSON
AND ROBERT MORRIS

I wonder what fire departments these guys belonged to. If you have any info, please send me an email.

Ixonia Fire Department Celebrates 100th Year

This from the Oconomowoc Focus (in Wisconsin).

Town of Ixonia - With a $72 purchase of 8,000 bricks and a $300 hand-operated pump, the Town of Ixonia's fire department got its official start.

That was 100 years ago, and the department is celebrating a century of service and commit­ment to the community.

Congratulations to the Ixonia Fire Department!

New York Fire Patrol Shut Down

This was posted yesterday at Firehouse.com:

Another traditional fire service that is going to be going down the tubes is the New York Fire Patrol. The New York Fire Patrol started back around 1800, when the Mutual Assistance and Bag Corporation was formed by a group of volunteers to protect and preserve the contents of buildings from fire & water damage.

...

The (insurance) organizations entitled to vote at the 2006 Biennial Meeting of the New York Board of Fire Underwriters voted to no longer have a New York Fire Patrol. These organizations adopted a resolution charging the board of directors of the NYBFU to carry out “in a lawful and orderly manner”, their decision to shut down the New York Fire Patrol....as soon as it can be done.

This is causing quite a stir in the firefighting community on the internet.

Check out this post from Cap Mike at Firefighter Blog.

Here is some good background info from a blog called New York Fire Patrol.

There should be changes made and chances given for all sides that have an interest in the New York Fire Patrol. This vote was the easy way out. Let’s not take the easy way out. Lets support the New York Fire Patrol as they have supported the 5 boroughs for over 100 years. Do not shut them down it would be a big mistake for all parties from the NYBFU to the insurance companies, to the mom and pop stores and large stores a like. It will affect the men who have worked hard to maintain a tradition of salvage work with pride and dedication and affect the family of these men. There is a better way.

Here is the NY Fire Patrol website.

Another website called Fire Patrol 1~2~3 with information and pictures.

Personally, it is sad that the NYFP is being closed. Another piece of firefighting tradition that just became a part of firefighting history. However, if the people that fund the organization think it is no longer necessary, there probably isn't anything that will save it.

UPDATE: Roanoke Firefighters has a post too.

1909 Firefighter Duties

Over at the blog called Firefighter, there are some interesting posts about firefighting back in the early 1900s. Here is an excerpt from a post about 1909 firefighter duties.

A fireman started at the large salary of $75 a month, working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the meal hours ran in three periods, as follows, dived up in shifts from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. for breakfast, and so on until supper time. You could take three one hour meals, or two one and a half ones, or one three hour meal. Anyway if you had a family you only saw them three hours a day. Hardly enough for your wife and children to know you.

Tough hours! The rest of the article has a lot of detail about how they maintained the horses and equipment.

Chief Barclay McKeough Memorial Museum

If you visit Myrtle Beach, SC, be sure to check out the Chief Barclay McKeough Memorial Museum (from MyrtleBeachOnline.com).

Fire-grenade bottles were tossed at the base of a blaze in an attempt to put it out long before there were fire extinguishers. Fire officials barked out commands to firefighters through speaking bugles at fire scenes instead of the portable radios of today.

Through the years, technology has made the profession of battling fires considerably safer. Some of the vintage tools and equipment on display at a modest fire museum inside a Myrtle Beach fire station offer a glimpse of a bygone era when meticulously kept hand-written fire logs were the norm of the day for some departments.

...

Named for the retired New York firefighter who served as a volunteer with Myrtle Beach for about two decades beginning in the early 1970s, the keepsakes have a decidedly New York flavor.

There are, however, a clutch of timeworn helmets and hand tools - such as an antique spanner wrench once used to open hydrants and fire hose nozzles - that capture some of the history of firefighting at the beach.

Sounds like a good way to pass a few hours while on a vacation or trip. Click on the link and scroll all the way to the bottom for the address of the museum and the hours they are open.

Glass Bulb Fire Extinguisher

Good stuff at Roanoke Firefighters today!

You should read this post about a Red Comet glass bulb fire extinguisher, complete with pictures.

Also, in the post mentioned above, there is a link to the Online Fire Extinguisher Museum. I love museums and this one is great because it is online! Lots of good info and great pictures.

FD Rules and Regulations from 1937

Rhett over at Roanoke Firefighters has a post about the Roanoke Fire Department's Rules and Regulations from 1937. Interesting stuff - how times have changed!

Detroit FD Pictorial History to be Published

Mike over at Firefighter Blog has a post about a Detroit woman that is self-publishing a pictorial history of the Detroit Fire Department. Here is the link to the original article (from HomeTownLife.com).

Cheryl Anderson brings together 150 years of visual history for "Detroit Firefighters: A Pictorial History of the People."

Using research skills gained through 20 years of genealogy research, Anderson assembled a pictorial history of 4,200 Detroit firefighters, which she is self-publishing this month.

Anderson, a South Lyon area resident for more than 30 years, became interested in recording the history of Detroit firefighters because of her husband, Fred, who served in the Detroit Fire Department for 35 years.

To include pictures of 4,200 firefighters is quite a project. If you live in the Detroit area, this would be a great book to have.

Old Roanoke Fire Trucks Found

Check out the post and pictures at Roanoke Firefighters. Rhett went on a search for old fire trucks at some junk yards and found some interesting stuff.

Firefighting Exhibit in Littleton, MA

If you live near Littleton, MA, there is a new firefighting exhibit that you might want to view (from the Littleton Independent).

The exhibit is a blend of historical artifacts and paraphernalia from the collection of Littleton resident James Ray collected over the last century. Society and Littleton Resident James Ray are hosting an exhibit which blends their collections of firefighting paraphernalia collected over the past century or older, in some cases. The society's fire bucket, the oldest piece, is dated 1794. On display is a hose cart from 1900, as well as helmets, buckets, uniforms, gas masks, patches, fire alarm call boxes, radio equipment, and trumpets.

Cool stuff. That 1794 fire bucket seems really old to me, but I live in an area of the country that was settled relatively late in U.S. history. The fire bucket they have on display is 87 years older than my hometown!

Smithsonian Acquires Firefighting Pieces

The Smithsonian Museum has acquired a big collection of firefighting artifacts (from U.S. Newswire).

The almost 4,000-piece collection of art and historical artifacts dates back more than 250 years and is a gift from CIGNA Corp. and its predecessor companies. This unparalleled private collection of firefighting and maritime history objects increases the museum's firefighting collection tenfold and represents one of the most extensive holdings of early firefighting materials from the mid-1800s.

One more reason to visit the Smithsonian if I ever get to Washington, D.C.

Gwinnett County FD Museum

When I see that another fire museum is opening, I can't help but post on it. If you live anywhere near Gwinnett County, Georgia, plan on visiting the new fire museum when it is finished. This from the Gwinnett Daily Post:

NORCROSS - The Gwinnett County Fire Department's history is rooted in Norcross, and soon it will be planted there too. The county will open a small fire service museum in a new station to be located on Lawrenceville Street. Officials from the city and the county broke ground on the facility Tuesday. "All of us can think about the past as well as the future," Commission Chairman Charles Bannister said of the new station and museum.

Best of luck to the new museum.

FD Gallery on Display

If you live near Mercer, PA, there is a new display about firefighting (from Vindy.com).

MERCER, Pa. —There was a time when fire marks, or plaques, adorned houses with fire insurance and firefighters raced to burning homes on horse and buggy.

Some of those artifacts, as well as more recent innovations in firefighting, are now on display at the Mercer County Historical Society's fire departments gallery.

"These people are often the unsung heroes of our county. You don't think about them until you need them, and then you are happy to see them," said Bill Philson, executive director of the Mercer County Historical Society. "We feel it is important to celebrate these people in a meaningful way."

More details about what is on display in the article.

Native Perspective of Wildland Fire

This is a good article regarding the Native American perspective on the use of wildland fire to maintain healthy forests (from the Missoulian).

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 1792: Traveling the borderland between modern Montana and the endless expanse of what's now known as southern Alberta.

Still smoking all around, the explorer notes: ”grass having been lately burnt,“ ”grass nearly all burnt,“ ”grass yet burning.“ For days, his journals are filled with fire, no end in sight.

Yet there hadn't been a lightning strike in who knows how many weeks.

When Hudson's Bay Co. fur trader Peter Fidler first laid eyes on the wide wild West, it seemed to him a pristine wilderness, a garden shaped from on high and never yet bent beneath the clumsy hands of men.

”But it's a myth,“ said Germaine White. ”This idea that it was a ‘natural' forest, that you can restore ‘natural' fire, it's a myth. For thousands of years, this has been a landscape formed by native people.“

It's a long article, but well worth the time to read it.

CDF Fire Museum

There is a new fire museum opening in San Bernardino, CA (from the Los Angeles Daily Bulletin).

Five years ago, a group of retired firefighters stepped up to save the day. They didn't pull people out of a burning building or stop the forest from going up in smoke.

What they did wasn't that attention-grabbing or heroic.

But it was historic.

On Thursday, those firefighters got to see their efforts rewarded, as the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection opened its first museum specifically dedicated to the history of the department.

The museum, housed in CDF's former command center on Sierra Way in San Bernardino, features two rooms full of tools, equipment, clothing, photographs and other memorabilia covering the department's 100-year firefighting history.

I love going to museums, but I've never had the opportunity to go to a firefighting museum. If I ever get to San Bernardino, you can be assured that I won't pass up the chance to check out this new museum.

Old Engine Back on the Road

Here is a pretty good write-up about the restoration of an old fire engine (from the Kansas City Star).

“When you hit the start button it fires right up and it purrs like a kitten,” he said. “It’s just kind of fun. It has a loud exhaust, and it really just gurgles and fires up perfectly.”

New Fire Truck Museum

A fire truck museum is under construction to house antique American LaFrance apparatus. However, American LaFrance is in the process of being sold and the plant near the museum will be closed (from Tuscaloosanews.com)

City officials say they still plan to go ahead with a $6.2 million fire museum despite the fact that the company that makes fire trucks plans to close it nearby plant.

"It's still in full play. It will not have any negative impact on that at all," North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said Monday. "They have a contract, and it will be honored. All of their equipment will stay with us."

The museum will house about two-dozen antique fire trucks that are part of American LaFrance's corporate collection. The parent company of American LaFrance said last week it would eliminate about 250 jobs as it closes its plant in Ladson.

Good for them. I think the museum will do fine.

1883 Cistern Pumper

This Medford Mail Tribune article details some pretty cool history regarding an 1883 cistern pumper in Jacksonville, OR.

The event was held in conjunction with the 1937 Oregon fire chief’s convention in Medford. For demonstrative purposes a shack was hastily built behind the Medford fire station, soaked with kerosene and set ablaze. Once the flare-up was deemed sufficiently threatening, a hand-picked crew rushed in to extinguish the inferno using the Jacksonville Fire Department’s vintage 1883 cistern pumper.

Southern Oregon’s oldest living resident at the time, a man named Philander McEntyre, was outfitted with a vintage fire helmet for the newsreel film crew. McEntyre issued commands to the pumper crew in the same manner of fire chiefs of old — by blowing a trumpet. Things went slightly awry when the crew started pumping. Naturally the crew had the expectation water would blast out and beat down the flames when they commenced pumping. Much to their surprise it did not — at least not immediately.

Read the rest of the article to see how this story ends.

Historic Roanoke Station to Remain Open

Good news (via IAFF Local 1132) for the folks that wanted to keep Roanoke Station #1 open. The city council voted to keep it open and to scrap consolidation plans. Look here for my original post.

Will Roanoke Station #1 Close?

I ran across this while I was surfing this morning. The City of Roanoke wants to close Roanoke Fire Station #1. The Roanoke Fire Fighters Association has put together a compelling case to keep it open. This station is the oldest operating fire station in Virginia and one of the oldest in the nation.

Interesting reading.

Trail to Honor Ed Pulaski

Ed Pulaski, the guy that saved 39 firefighters from a wildfire in 1910, and then later invented the pulaski firefighting tool, was honored at the dedication ceremony of a trail that will named after him (from the Billings Gazette).

The Big Blowup killed at least 85 people, destroyed entire towns and burned 3 million acres along the Montana-Idaho border. It prompted the U.S. Forest Service to begin aggressively fighting wildfires for the rest of the 20th century.

Pulaski, an early Forest Service ranger, is celebrated for leading his crew to the abandoned mine shaft, saving 39 of the 45 firefighters as raging flames swept over the creek valley. The tool he invented eventually became standard equipment for wildland firefighters across the country.

If you've fought wildland fires, you have probably been on the business end of a pulaski. Great tool. Someday, I'd like to hike this new trail.

Air Tanker No. 1

Cool article on the first air tanker in the U.S. (from the Chico Enterprise-Record).

To Sound the Siren, or Not?

Do you have a siren in your town that sounds when there is a fire? Where I'm from, every town has one. In my hometown, they sound it at 8 AM (time to get to work), 12 PM (lunch), 1 PM (time to get back to work), and 6 PM (supper time). It also sounds when there is a structure fire - although this doesn't happen every time because the guys that activate the siren are on the fire department. They sometimes forget to blow the siren in their haste to get to the fire station.

Here is an article about a town that is struggling with the question of whether to keep sounding their siren:

Newell told the Mason Valley News Wednesday, “The siren is kind of an old-time thing, a traditional thing.” He added he could understand the traditional aspect but when it has been going off as often as it has recently, “When it blows every 15 minutes, something needs to be done, it becomes a distraction.” He added with the local fire calls going up, “It’s hard to tell citizens they have to live with it.”

At least in my hometown, I think we can do away with sounding the siren for fires. All of our firefighters carry radios and pagers so it really is unnecessary.

50 Years of Air Tankers

Check out this article on the 50th anniversary of air tanker use in the U.S. (from the Chico Enterprise-Record):

A ceremony marking the 50th birthday of aerial firefighting will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Willows Airport.

In 1955, the Mendocino National Forest began the organized use of airplanes for direct wildland firefighting, thus beginning the era of using air tankers for fighting fires.

Read the whole article.

Firehouse Poles Declining

Via US Firefighting News, an article by the Star Tribune covers the decline of poles within firehouses.

It's the same around the country, as cities build one-story firehouses and update older ones. "It certainly is without any question that firehouse poles are becoming, with each new firehouse, a thing of the past," said Harold Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Here is why:

The removal has also coincided with heightened concerns about safety in recent years. Every firefighter seems to tell stories of pole-related broken ankles, sprains, blown-out knees, friction burns, concussions, twisted and broken backs. News accounts described one pole-related paralysis, in 1969, and one civilian death, in 1929.

It’s too bad that they are unsafe; however, they will forever remain a symbol of firefighting.

Japanese Fire Coats

Via Firefighter Blog, Cincinnati.com has a cool article about Japanese fire coats from the 17th and 18th centuries.

Just like today's firefighters, Japanese firefighters of the 17th and 18th centuries wore a kind of uniform that not only identified them as firefighters but also as members of a particular unit. Unlike today, the coats were cotton and were stenciled, painted and dyed with a squad's pattern, then tightly quilted. Many reversed to a ceremonial side with fantastic designs plucked from ancient stories, and depicted strong and determined creatures or historic heroes.

Here is the link to the Cincinnati Art Museum where they will be displayed.