Members of the 1908 fire team are shown above. In
the back row, from the left, are C.I. Ambrose, T.K. Tollefson,
N.M. House, H.T. Thompson, Roy Durant, H.C. Bakken, J.L. Wheeler,
W.J. Perry and H.E. Reed. Second row, from the left, H.J. Hanson,
unidentified, Peter P. Larson, A.D. Baumgardner, Harry Ritter,
William Samm, C.B. Easler, J.W. Lackore and H.C. Borchard. First
row, from the left, I.R. Perry [or L.R. Perry], Andrew Hanson,
George W. Elder, George Palmer, John W. Shimer, C.D. Ambrose,
William Lundberg, M.G. Green and B.J. Lackore.
For many years after the settlement of
Forest city the only defense against fire was the bucket
brigade. Those were the days when the crowds that rushed
to see the fire were sorely needed. A line was formed
from the nearest well to the burning building and buckets
of water were passed along the line to the fire and back
to be refilled. Needless to say this method of fire
fighting was not very satisfactory.
The first move toward an organized fire department in the
city occured in 1881. A hook and ladder company was
organized, a town well was started and a shed proposed to
be built on the court house square. Uniforms were
ordered, a truck and horse were purchased and a fire bell
ordered. The fire bell which cost $18 was mounted on the
town square.
About 1885 a new town well was dug at the center of the
intersection of Clark and K streets. It was approximately
six feet in diameter and about 18 feet in depth with
about 6 feet of water. In order to protect as large an
area as possible and save expense two large cisterns were
dug, one at the intersection of Clark and L streets and
the other at the intersection of Clark and J streets.
The city then purchased a hand pumper engine, a few
hundred feet of hose, a two wheeled hose cart and a four
wheeled hook and ladder wagon equipped with ladders,
pikes and axes. A fire house was built at a cost of $600
and the fire bell was moved to the top of this building.
One of the fire department's first duties was to bring
out the hand pumper and pump water from the town well to
fill the two cisterns in order to be prepared to serve
the property owners in that section of town.
The election of officers was held and the following were
chosen: John Isaacson, chief engineer; E.A. Pinckney,
first assistant; O.H. Twito, foreman and G.H. Onstad, his
assistant; and Hans Thompson, foreman of the hose
company.
But since there was no water works system in the town the
fire department's facilities for real service were so
limited that it later disbanded and passed into history
with all honors for the efforts put forth.
A water works system was constructed in 1895, and a hook
and ladder team was organized. The old hand pumper was
traded off because there was no use for it. By the fall
of 1896 this hook and ladder team had become inactive. On
April 6, 1897, E.M. Thompson and Goerge Thomas put the
matter of a fire department run on a business basis
before the city council and what is known as the Forest
City fire department was organized.
George Elder was chief; Thomas Danaher, assistant; B.J.
Lackore, secretary and treasurer; E.M. Thompson, foremen
of the hose cart, M.G. Green, assistant; George Thomas,
foreman, hook and ladder; Harry Rider, assistant.
The names of the 26 charter members were: George Elder,
Thomas Danaher, B.J. Lackore, George Thomas, Harry Rider,
B.F. Wellman, William Lundberg, William Wellman, C.B.
Charlson, William Otis, E. Blodgett, C.C. Hanson, J.W.
Shimer, D.W. Perry, E.M. Thompson, John Johnson, C.D.
Ambrose, E.F. Thompson, Henry Hanson, H.E. Reed, H.M.
Howes, M.G. Green, and H.D. Miles. About a month later
C.B. Chase, Hans Thompson and Irwin Ambrose were admitted
as members.
The city was districted for fire alarms in 1897. In 1903
a new fire bell was placed in the court house tower. This
is the bell which still tells the hours from the tower.
During 1905 the next year a new four wheel cart and 500
feet of hose were purchased.
A cart such as this could not be driven to the fire, it
had to be pulled. When the alarm sounded the firemen
raced to the station house, unwound the long rope
attached to the cart and pulled the cart to the fire.
Later a dray team was hired to pull the wagon. After
George Bolsinger joined the fire department in 1905 his
dray team was used to pull the fire wagon.
He had the horses trained to dash to the fire station the
moment the bell rang. Sometimes the horses were in such a
hurry to get to the station they almost forgot to take
George along. Once when he was down at the M. & St.
L. depot the fire bell began to ring and the horses
started off. George hardly had time to grab the back of
his wagon. He tried to slow the horses down as they
reached the top of the hill at the intersection of Clark
street but before he could do so they collided with a
horse and buggy.
Another time in the middle of winter the alarm was
sounded and students from Waldorf ran to the fire house.
They started to pull the fire wagon to the fire, but it
got stuck in the snow. George came with his horses and
sleigh, hitched the fire wagon to the back of the sleigh
and hauled the wagons and the college students to the
fire. but horse drawn fire wagons were soon abandoned for
horse fire engines.
In March 1915, a new chemical engine was purchased to
insure protection beyond the water limits of the city.
A truck was purchased in 1923. It had a capacity of 400
gallons of water per minute. The purchase price was
$6,850. In 1930 this truck was traded in on a new model.
In 1947 a fire truck was purchased by the townships of
Forest, Madison and Ellington for rural fire protection.
An agreement was made with the city that this truck
should be housed in the city fire station, serviced, and
manned by the city firemen. The truck could in turn be
used as a pumper in the city in case of fires out of
control. This pump has a maximum power of throwing 500
gallons per minute. It has 30 foot ladder, a roof ladder,
and an attic ladder, as well as chemical extinguishers.
The city realized the need for a new city truck and one
was purchased in 1948. This truck was the latest in
design. It has a cab large enough to accomodate five men,
a 195 horsepower V-12 engine located directly behind the
cab, and the short, 150 inch wheel base has a turning
radius of 25 feet. The truck can carry 150 gallons of
water and can pump 750 gallons per minute. Weight of the
truck when empty is 14,000 pounds. Both the pumping and
the engine controls are brought out to the right side and
can easily be handled by one man. Forest City's fire
fighing equipment has changed considerably since the days
of the bucket brigade.
In 1954 the rural fire company purchased a truck and
equipped this truck with a large 1,000 gallon tank which
is used to help supply water to the regular rural fire
fighting truck.
Late in 1954, the city took option on a new building for
the fire department. The floor in the present building
was considered weak for the weight of the trucks and
additional space was needed for the water truck. Before
moving into the new building, that was once owned by
Forest Launderers and Cleaners and located west of the
creamery, the city council feels it must sell its present
building in Main street. Rent paid towards the new
building will be applied towards the purchase of the
building if the city decides to buy the structure.
The fire department members meet each Monday night. On
the first meeting night in April election of officers is
held. From its organization in 1897 to 1939 three fire
chiefs served the total 42 years. George Elder served 15
years, William Lundberg 11 years and H.J. Hanson 16
years. Since 1939 verious men have served as chief. |
