Show fROM PROM BUCKET T. T BRIGADE 1 TO ONE OP Of TNT THE 6 BEST ST ST. I f V t 1 Of fiRE DEPARTMENTS 1 r The The Tha evolution of or the Salt Lake City f fj J are re department from volunteers each v of whom furnished his own bucket with which to fight names flames to one of the best equipped qt and modern fire departments in n the country is a story of brave men mens s who Vho risk their lives to save the lives and Md property of others A story of the individual heroism of the members rs of the tho department from its organization to the present time would ill 11 a hundred newspaper pages and then the half would not be told V It was in n 1852 five years after the pioneers had entered the Salt Lake Lako yal- yal valley val ley sley that the tho question of a fire depart depart- meat m at t was first seriously discussed The year following a volunteer firo fire depa depart depart- tent t ent was was was' organized which continued for fr thirty years as the protector of t the e ity from fire It was a crude affair its members who served without pay being scattered throughout hout the city supposed to leave loave their work at the alarm of fire file and with witti their buckets rush to the fire firo r October 17 1856 the tho City Council t. t passed an ordinance Organizing and regulating tho the fire department in Great I Salt alt Lake Lako City The ordinance which is ill is now now one of the interesting relics of the early days of this city and is in the possession of the V Veteran Volunteer Firemen's association was signed by Jedediah M. M Grant Mayor and Robert Campbell City Recorder It created II Deseret Engine Company No 1 and andi i Deseret Ladder Company No 2 2 Each of these companies consisted of twenty nine men and officers officer Old Volunteer Force Jesse Jess C. C Little an experienced engineer engineer en en- was placed at the head of the volunteer organization At this timet time time- t the e equipment consisted of three dozen Iri x leather leathor buckets and twenty one fire ladders ladders lad ladr I ders dors the tIie kind that a man could easily carry as he ran Five hundred dollars was set aside for the construction of ofa a a. fire firc engine The engine was built under under un un- der the personal direction of Chief Lit Lit- Little tle tie and cost It was named f v The Volunteer This Thi was the fi first st 5 5 fire engine constructed west of the Mis- Mis r r river and is still preserved in the ball hall of the Veteran Firemen's association association tion on Canyon road It was operated by means of brakes on either side v wh which h were handled by members of the 5 department As the brake on one sides side s' s caused the water to be sucked from the i ir i r irrigation ditch for there were no water wa ova- I tot tel mains at that time into the tho engine J the break on the other side forced it f through the hose the to-the fire The engine was rebuilt twice before it went out of commission t r The Tho method of hauling the engine engino to tor r a- a afire fire was as primitive as the T J us us When an alarm was sounded the I m members of the department rushed to toS I S the engine As soon as there were S i enough h men there to operate it the m men menI n I took hold of a long rope that was attached at- at t. t J tach d to the tho front part and away they i a j. j hurried to the fire i f r S Up Up to 1871 there were practically no fires tires of any consequence in tho city In f that Je year r the loss from fire was 1000 if In hi n 1871 the fire department was S Jd with John D. D T T. T McAllister as Jf thief hief A new hand engine was ordered from the East to together ether with several other needed appliances About this 55 5 time several spirited public citizens got 1 together and ordered a fire engine De from 5 New York When it arrived it was wasI I found that it was practically impossible r it to haul it through h the streets by manual i labor because of its great weight Again I the cost of maintaining a a. private fire department was a little too much forthe for forI I the tho people who had purchased the en en- gine give City Buys a a. Team The city finally purchased the en engine le And land provided a team to haul it o No November o- o vember 16 1875 the department was fc r called ailed to a a. fire firo at at Husseys Hussey's bank Main street between First and Second South streets in the building now occupied by byj bythe j i. i the Bamberger Coal company The new V engine enne was put to the test test and was a al' al a 1 f e complete failure Two flues o blew out a l' l minutes after it had hado been been started and for Tor six hours the volunteers fought t v 5 5 the fire firo with their old hand apparatus s. s 5 Tho rhe fire loss was by far the heaviest loss in any single lIngle fire firo in tho the u city up to that time time The total of losses from 1871 until 1883 when the volunteer volun volun- volunteer teer department went out of existence iwas z vas Between 18 1871 1 and 1875 a number of v private fire com companies anies I had bad ad been organ organ- 55 The Salt Lake Theater purchased and aud installed a small hand engine The Ther r- r i Utah Central Railway company now s j 4 t tho e Oregon Short Line organized a hose company Walker brothers also or organ organ- an- an v fazed zed a company composed of their their t 1 clerks wh which ch ran to all fires in the business busi- busi 1 i T ness tress district P t In March 1876 Chief McAllister resigned resigned re- re signed and Charles 1 M. M Donaldson was appointed months later Donaldon Donaldson Donald- Donald son eon on resigned an and Geor George e M. M Ottinger Avas va name named to the position he held until c f until April 1890 i t S i t The second big fire in the history of y i ISalt Salt Lake City occurred the night of r Tune June 21 1883 when a warehouse occupied 1 7 J pied by H. H B. B Clawson on on the spot t now occupied by the Deseret News an- an very cau caught ht fire 4 A- lar largo large e quantity of powder stored in the binding building exploded i aSt after the firemen reached the scene v r No lolo o one was killed thou though h a number of tho firemen had narrow escapes and S more than worth of plate plate glass lass s in stores on upper Main M in et was was was deStroyed del de- de l Before the Tire tre was extinguished extin extin- S r. r Buis ed the following buildings were C t gutted The old Council house housel on the they v y the I News corner now o occupied by News 1 v building the warehouse of H. H B B. B Clawson Claw- Claw son fon on C. C CE K Savage art gallery gallery- bakery Carlquist l Lure ture ure Elias li s Morris headstones headstones- Perrys Perry's S job printing establishment an and and a number num- num S j x her ber er of smaller concerns concern II The roofs of rv the Tabernacle and tithing office were set liet afire a number of times S V 5 A A Woman FiremanS Fireman i J Mrs frs Thomas Powell a daughter of S 'S y r Bishop Warburton of the First ward ay I. I J I w s. s made an honorary member of the ther r dep department in 1878 and bears the dis dis- V unction of bein being one of ot the few women irr the world who ever belonged to a fire 1 r department One day in the latter part 1 to v pf 1878 Chief Ottinger had just reached i I from fire Ms his home hom a wren when another Ill ularm rm ran rang put out He started at once for fors s the tho fire fire which was in the tho southeastern r Y-i Y 5 part art of the city After running two miles mues and when ne nearly ready to dropS drop'S drop S 'S from roni exhaustion he met Mrs ors Powell Power t. t who was in a buggy She stopped an ana Lt c that the chief chief- ta take her outfit 4 Noh f 1 n order ordez that the horse norse might be unia i I cumbered with extra wei weight ht Mrs Powell got out and waited until m the chief returned One of the critical yet vet am amusing sing experiences experiences that Chief Ottinger relates elates happened happened hap nap at a fire many years ago at the place now occupied by the Wilson hotel It was at night said the former Chief and the tho fire had gained a pretty good headway before I arrived In passing to the rear of the building I suddenly fell into what proved to be a below the surface of the ground A ton or two of coal had been on lire fire for some time and it was only prompt action of some of my men that saved sayed me from being burned to death As It was my boots and trousers were badly burned and I received several several bad burns on the legs As I was going from one point to another another another an an- other I 1 went out of sight once more This time I had fallen Into a cesspool used b bya by bya a nearby restaurant I went up to my waist in water and filth Once more the boys got me out The night was waa bitter cold and In a few minutes my half half- burned clothing was frozen stiff The experience reminded me of two rival preachers In the South One of them was wag preaching that the pla place e for the wicked In the other world was awfully hot the theother theother other a negro preacher the members of whose congregation consisted of ot a number of ot persons who had rheumatism preached that it was a cold place As I went home that night with my burned and frozen frozen frozen en clothing and body I felt that it didn't matter mattel much whether the other place was hot or cold Id I'd been pretty close to it anyway Put Firemen on Pay 4 1 In 1879 the City Council passed a resolution resolution reso reso- lution allowing the members of the d de department department de- de 25 cents an hour for tor the time actively engaged in fighting a fire The first paid department was organized October Oc Oc- tober 1 I 1883 George M. M Ottinger was named as chief at a salary of or a year There were also a first and second assistant as assistant assistant as- as chief four tour paid stationary men menat menat menat at the hall and thirty-nine thirty call men nn who were paid 50 a year A horse Old Nig which served for nearly fifteen years vears in the department was purchased The city had two or three thre teams employed on the streets and It was the duty of each driver as soon as he heard an alarm of fire to unhitch his his' team and hurry to headquarters there to hitch bitch it on the apparatus apparatus apparatus ap ap- ap- ap and haul it to the fire Upon an alarm being sounded drivers of ot express w wagons gons would race for tor headquarters one team would be selected to haul the engine and an allowance of 75 cents be made by the Auditor In 1884 the tile salary of the chief chiet was In Increased increased increased in- in creased to and the force was increased Increased in increased In- In creased by five additional call men This force torce was kept Intact until 1890 when hell hellIt it was reorganized under tho the first Liberal administration Prior to 1889 the only method of t turning an alarm Into headquarters headquarters headquarters head head- quarters was for some someone one to ride or run from the scene of the fire to The old bell at the city hall would then ring the alarm One stroke told the call men that the le fire was in the north part of the city two strokes that it was was was' east three south and four tour west One Onello four stroke short followed llo strokes by a denoted short gf pause that t an and the e et t then fire was in the northwestern part of the city and so on In 1889 fifty two fifty two alarm boxes were placed in different parts p of the city Today Today Today To To- day Salt Lake Lale City has an alarm system that is the equal of ot any in the country Chief Ottinger's Work While acting as chief of ot the fire depart- depart men Mr Ottinger also acted as superintendent superIntendent superintendent of waterworks for tor a number of ot years As such he caused the first reservoir reservoir reser reser- voir to be built in City Creek Creep canyon and I had over thirty miles of ot water mains laid In 1890 8 the department m was reorganized t with ft W A. A S Stanton as chief h During the first year of his term some of ot the most disastrous fires that the city has ever known occurred The first of these was the Dinwoodey furniture store in West First South street Sunday afternoon May IS 18 1890 Before the was extinguished the Dinwoodey store as well as the Calder music store was in ruins and the loss footed June 24 of the same year a fire at the Salt Lake Lalle brewery caused a loss of ot 37 The night of July 3 of ot the same year the Walker Valker opera-house opera which stood on the site now occupied by the tho Atlas block was destroyed The fIre started Just lust after af ar after arter af- af ter the close of a a performance of Held by the Enemy The fire lighted up the city and surrounding country u a and Col ii Blunt then commanding n ti officer fi r ra at l port Fort Douglas ordered companies G and H 11 of ot i ithe the to Sixteenth infantry to hurry to the city I with what apparatus they had The year following the op Co-op Furniture company's store was damaged and the Lace house suffered a loss of From 1890 to 1893 the department department depart depart- ment was V equipped with i several additional sd horses 0 and de considerable apparatus and In Increased increased in- in creased by several men The pay of the members was also raised In 1894 1534 James JamesD vine De D was appointed chief of the de de- de The Legislature of 1894 passed a law creating the fire imd police board of ot cities of the first class O. O J. J Sails Sails- bur bury F. F W. W Jennings N. N A. A Empey and W. W P. P Noble were named as the members of or the commission Under the Devine administration the de department department department de- de was further Improved by the establishment es establishment establishment es- es of direct communication with the Bell Telephone company office by which It was possible to phone the location location location loca loca- tion of fires direct to the central station In 1896 the alarm system was again Improved improved Im- Im proved through the effective work of Charles T T. Vail ValI now chief of the department department department depart depart- ment but at that time superintendent of ot the fire alarm system March 18 10 1904 Mayor Morris recommended recommended recommended mended William G G. Bywater to the City Council as chief of the fIre department Mr Bywater was confirmed and the following following fol fo- fol- fol lowing day took up the duties of ot chief From March 18 to December 1 1904 the total loss by fire tire In this city was 37 Mr Vail Van in Charge January 16 1906 Mayor vor Thompson presented presented presented pre pre- the name of Charles T. T Vail Vall to the City Council as chief of the depart depart- ment Vail was s confirmed fi by a practically 0 assume eJ cally un unanimous vote and 9 assumed command command com com- mand the following day He had been a member of ot the department since July 1 1890 Under Chief Vail Vall the department has been Increased In Jn efficiency until to today today today to- to day it ranks among the tho best In the coun coup tr try The record of fire fiTe under Chief Vail has been e a a. remarkable one From January 16 1906 to June 1 1907 1901 the department responded to alarms The property threatened amounted to with an Insurance risk of The ac actual actual actual ac- ac loss was In the last six months there have ha-e been three fires the loss on any one of which would have run over the mark had it not been for tor the prompt action of the fire fighters The first was at the Bismarck saloon In Ine West e Second South u street re the afternoon of December b 6 when h Assistant ss f ite Chief Crosby and a number of others were badly badly badly bad bad- ly burned by the explosion of a gasoline tank The second was the afternoon of ot January 19 when wilen the Templeton block was discovered on tire fire This was one of ot the hardest fires to fight that the department department department depart |