The morning call., 1891-08-31
OLD-TIME FIREMEN.
A Review of the Early Days of
the Department.
Many Daring Men Grew Gray in the Service.
Veteran Engineers. and stokers-Tom
Smiley Was Always Stubborn.

The present Fire Department went INTO
service on December 3, 1866, with six steam
fire-engnes, five hose and two hook-and-
ladder companies. The Volunteer Depart
ment, which went out of service al that
time. consisted OF ten hand-engines, two
first-c!ass steam ire-engines, two second
class steam fire-engines, five hose and three
hook-and-l ladder companies, and the only
engine drawn by horses was p ennsylvania
Ne u. The first Board of Fire Commits
sloners consisted of B. II. Freeman, j. "
MeElwee elected by the people,, E. n.
Torrey. j. c. Merrill! (appointed by the
Board Of Underwriters and Jacob s. DimOn
appointed by the Board of Fire Under
writer's. The Chief Engineer, L. Z. r.
Whitney, had served previously six years
as Chief in the old department. Henry W.
BuEckes. First Assistant Engineer was the
last foreman Of Howard Engine Company
No ,. while the Second Assistant Engineer,
Charles H. AckeTson, had been foreman OF
California No. l. John p. Jourden was the
first clerk; Daniel ID. Hayes, Super
intendent Of steamers; Thomas Sawyer,
corpoTation-yard keeper; John Mccarthy
present District Engineer). drayman, and
William Finley, hydgantman.
THE FIRST FoREMEN.
The foremen were: Engine /. Walter ..
T. Smith; Engine >, Jer. j. Kelly; Eng inc
j, NJ. z. Fitzgibbon; Engine /, James E.
Mitchell; Engine ), Jnhn f. Ross after
waId tbe Assistant Engineer, who was
killed at the Palace Hotel explosion; En-
CINE e, Adam Smith; Hose l. W. G. Olwell :;
Hose ., Robert Cleary; Hose 3, Hubert D.
Caffey Hose 4, B. Wolff (aftcrward As
sistant EngineeD; Hose 3, Isaac V. Dem
nstOn; Hook and Ladder ompany l.
Frederick Roscamp; No. .. Alexander
Bourgeois. All OF them had served in the
old department. Every member of Truck ,
was a Frenchman, all old members of
p Lafayette >, ana were experts at splicing
and raising ladders and doing effective
work.
-Four of the engines were of tie Amos
keag make, bought expressly for the de-
partmeni, while No. had the little steamer
used by California, No 4, and 6-Old big
TO this city, and which had done service IN
tile old department some five years. The
hose used was leather, cotton and rubber
not being in use in those days.
The first alarm was tor a IRE on Decem-
Der Sd at o'clock in the morning in fruit
store al the corner of Second and Folsom
streets, which was speedily put out by a
single stream from Engine. AT that time
there were 4j9 hydrant5 ami 81 brick
Cisterus. Durin the first month of the de-
psrtment there were twenty two fires and
one false alarm; loss S43, $50. The first
monthly report of the head of the depart
ment remained the commission that the
department had proved gratifying sue
cess, considering that the members wer e
uEaccustOmed TO the workings of steam
fire department; that a great prejudice eX-
listed against the new organization; that the
number of fires had been unprecedented ;
that scarcely dollar had been expended on
the engines and that the department is
smaller than THAI Of any city of its size and
population in the United States"
FIRST BIG FIRE TO FIGHT.
The first big fire which the department
had to light was at the Cosmopolitan Hotel
on April q, 1867. The fourth and fifth
stories were partly DESTROYED, the fire being
checked in the third story. The loss was
$4,000. This ire was fought with the FIVE
engines in service. 1t is related that when
the IRE was raging furiOusly and threaten
,lng the " hole block Chief Whitney ordered
pan Hayes to the Corporation Yard, TO
bend all energies TO repair Big One and
bring her into service, which he did in a
couple Of hours. The iremen were on duty
stMe SIX hours, and, the force being small,
they had great odds TO contend with The
hose most of which was old burst too fire.
Quently, and new hose had to be brought
into service. The Croker building, which
adj0ined the Cosmopolitan, was totally de-
strUyed by fire some twenty-three years
o.. after
Illt uiSL ldlhQ6 VI llt department was
on July !, 1861 1t paraded every year
thereafter until 1873, owing to a fire occur
ring in july J. 1872, which caused great loss
before the department arrived. being on
parade when the alarm sounded. In the
early DAYS there was no fire patrols or sal
wage corps; no shut-off nozzle; no general
ing heaters 10 have steam always up; no
telephone or district telegraph in vogue. A
fire south Of Market street called the CON-
pdn!es on that side to q fire, while those
L. - H. Id 1f,,u1, &K,.xl
Market street, there to remain for fifteen
minutes but in case OF big light to
proceed to the fire.
MANY oLn-TIMERs GONE
But few of the early members ar to be
found to-day in the service that saw the
fist commencement OF the pr esent depart
nent nearly twenty-five years ago. Not
one of Engines !, 8 or As first members re-
main. OF Engine Pat Fleming is engineer
Of Engine. No. had then John J. Ma
h0ny, It's present efficient foreman; George
". kennard. now present Second Assistant
Chief Engineer; Hugh Colvin, now engineer
Of the company; James Grady, now fore
man of Engine. Engine has none of the
old regime; l Hose has still George Burr.
\ OF one Of the original 2 Hose are here. Oh
5 Hose J. W. Kennel is foreman of Truck
vi Hose l. V. DeunlSon Is now foreman
of Hose. Not one of l or Truck (pio-
s~neers) are row in service. Such is briei
sketch Of the early days of the present de
partment.
a patent respiring apparatus was invent
ed some years ago by foreman in this city,
and with It's assistance man could stay in
dense smoke for fifteen minutes, carrying
with him a bag of fresh air. Some firemen
c2rrya sponge in their coats to wet and put
IN their mouths but the old experienced
..hre-eaterS" lave no such contTivances.
SOME USEFUL INVENTIONS.
Ed O'Neill. formerly driver of Engine 8.
was the first torg an apparatus 10 unhitci
the horses when the gong struck, and &c
break them in. Charley Edmunds, formerly
OF Engine s, rigged similar apparatus Il
the bell on the old hose of Engine s. These
ideas were taken up, improved and patented
by Robert Bragg of this city. George
- Oliver, while driver OF Engine 8, devised and
constructed the contrivance by which the
driver, when be got on his seat and all was
ready, could reach up and pull hook at
tached to. rope to the ceiling connected
with weights, which went down and opened
the doors.
The oldest engineer in steady service /:
Pat FIemmiug, who has been engineer OF
Englne since its organization IN 1867. Mr.
FlemmiDg was amember of California En-
CINE Company No. 4, located on Marke
street opposite Ecker, and when that com.
pany displaced its Zimmerman hand-engine
Tor steamer he became engineer of 1t, q
position he held till near the close of the
old department. He was the first engineer
Of Engine 2, He certainly has grown gray
in the service Of the department. but i,
hale and hearty, and is always to be fuunt
courteous and genial
John Cook, the stoker of Engine Z, is tb,
veteran in his line, having been assistant t.
flemnlng for over twenty-four years
Cookie is an Exempt fireman.
A VETERAN VOCALIST.
Sam Davis, the six-footer veteran, VIII,
for long years pulled the rope of Columbian
H. is vocalist of old fire ditties. When b,
sings:
Wake up, Nose, the engines COMM,
Round the corner see 'em runnini,
Speed her boys, ana SEND her hummn',
A great shout goes up.
When the department first went into serv
G ice assistant or district engineers were pale
500 per month engineers of steamers, $50
foremen, $50; drivers, tillermen and stokers
$50 each, and extramen $50. This was in
creased later on, so that assistant engineer,
now get $3.50; engineers of steamers, $40
drivers; etc. S75; foremen, S45.
In in, ID l.