Sunday - August 15: Retired Volunteer Fireman & Historical Society member Bob Lloyd presented the Historical Aspects of the Wellsville Fire Department this past Sunday afternoon at the River Museum. Lloyd serves as historian for both the WVFD and the Friends of the Old Fire Station. Like many of Wellsville's dedicated volunteer fire fighters he's been involved and around the department since he was a young man. Researching, organizing and recording the history of Wellsville's fire fighting efforts is one of his passions.
Getting an organized fire department for Wellsville dates back to 1869 following two very costly fires that year. Prior to that fire fighting efforts depended on bucket brigades formed by the town residents, including women, that responded to fire calls.
The first fire in 1869 that aroused serious concern was at the J.M. Jenkins stables located between Main St. & Broadway at 3rd St. Besides the Jenkins stables it included other stables and sheds nearby. Loss in that fire was $2,000. The second was a big fire at the Urie Threshing Machine building at 9th & Front Street (Riverside). Loss in that fire was estimated at another $2,000. In today's dollars that would amount to at least hundreds of thousands in value.
In September of 1869 a Town Meeting was held and the Wellsville citizens voted to request City Council authorize the buying of a fire engine and other fire fighting equipment. Council later voted to form the Wellsville Fire Co. consisting of an Engine Co.,a Hook & Ladder Co. & a Bucket Co. The first fire department consisted of 37 men and it was decided to build an equipment storage shed on the City Jail lot at 5th St. Later years it was moved to the newly built City Hall at 5th & Main Sts. The first fire company was the Neptune Fire Co. That was changed to the Phoenix Fire Co. the next year.
The first fire engine purchased for the city was a Plantation Fire Engine pictured above. It cost $650 and could shoot a stream of water 125 feet. It was equipped with tubs that held water either supplied by a bucket brigade or an intake hose. There was room on top of the engine for up to 10 men to operate the pumping mechanism. Lloyd speculates that early fire hoses were made of leather with fitted ends to hook them together.
Apparently the fire companies fell apart. In 1874 then Mayor Fisher was quoted as saying the city had a fire engine, hoses and ladders but no organized fire department or adequate means of supplying water. At that time residents and businesses water supply came from individual wells or cisterns. In an 1879 book the author wrote that Wellsville never had their own fire department. They had an engine but it was sold when proven worthless with no water supply. It was noted by the author that the "proposed water works" at that time would have been able to supply enough water for the engine.
In June of 1882 the Silver Fire Department Hose Co. #1 was formed naming Charles Van Fossen as Chief. It was located at 5th & Main. In August of that same year a two man committee was formed to approach the School District to secure the old school house bell to be used as a fire alarm. A bill was presented to City Council in November of 1882 for the construction of a belfry atop of the Market House and Wellsville had its first fire alarm. As the years progressed the alarm system went from that bell to sirens & alarm boxes to a telephone ring-out system to continuously improved radio systems.
In 1884 a contract was made to purchase a fire alarm system but apparently never installed. Noted in 1882 insurance papers it was said that Wellsville's fire department consisted of one Chief and 36 called firemen with another 25 racing club members assisting at fire calls. Equipment consisted of two hose wagons, 53 double hydrants and a Gamewell fire alarm system with 11 boxes. Horses were hired from nearby liveries. Equipment storage sites were at 5th & Main with another at 13th & Center. The police doubled as fire fighters with patrol wagons that saw use hauling prisoners to jail plus hauling equipment to fires. Also in 1885 Council voted to pay $2 to the first person with a team of horses to show up to transport fire fighting equipment. In 1900 the City purchased "Flora". She was the first horse owned by the fire department. In 1884 the Silver Fire Co. changed its name to the City Fire Dept.
Also around 1900 the Catholic Church had outgrown its church in the 800 block of Main St. The old church was either donated or bought by the city and an extensive remodeling began to convert that building into a fire station. That project was completed around 1908 and the department was moved from 5th & Main.
In 1903 Alonzo W Phillips was hired as the first City employed Fire Chief at a princely sum of $150 salary per year. Later that same year the fire company was reorganized. The first motorized fire truck in Wellsville was a 1917 Commerce and a motorized combination patrol wagon & hose truck.
Lloyd reported that the most notable fire in the city's history, according to his research, occurred in March of 1926 on 3rd Street with damages estimated at $125,000 in 1926 dollars. The fire broke out in the early morning hours in the Petrakus Candy Company, quickly spread to the Riverside Hotel and damaged the three story buildings that housed the Lozi family, their restaurant and the Bologna building that housed their family and dry goods store. Mutual aid from the tin mill fire fighters, the East Liverpool Fire Dept. and two Seagraves salesmen were all that prevented the fire from wiping out a whole city block. Armor, a German Shepard dog, owned by hotel owner Fred Wilk, was credited with preventing any loss of life when he ran through the hotel hallways barking and waking up hotel occupants.
The two Seagraves Co. salesmen were in town with a pumper truck they were going to demonstrate to City officials the next day. They quickly got the truck on the river banks to assist the fire fighting efforts. The City officials were sufficiently impressed with the trucks performance and the following year a 1927 Seagraves pumper capable of pumping 650 gallons of water per minute was bought for the city. That same truck is now on displayed at the River Museum's Fire House.
Since that time fire equipment has been added, upgraded and replaced. The Fire Department was moved in the 1970s to its present location at 1201 Main St. Today Wellsville has a two man paid Fire Department supplemented with 25 call out fire fighters and a Volunteer Fire Department with 27 volunteers.
The first Volunteer Fireman's Homecoming was held in 1939. Lloyd said there are carnivals mentioned that go back to 1916 but it can't be determined if they were sponsored by the Fire Dept. The volunteers assist the Village plus they cover Yellow Creek Township.
This was the third and final of the Historical Society's Special programs for this year. The other two were the history of the Acmecraft China Co. and the Stevenson Mfg. foundry. The museum is open from 1 P.M. to 4:30 each Sunday through August. It is open to the public and admission is free. Special tours can be arranged by reservation. Call 330-532-3941 for additional information.
ole nib
No comments:
Post a Comment