Daily Kennebec journal., 1897-03-03
A Short History Of the Fire Department.


Some months ago your president in
II looked far ahead and l accepted the
invitation with little hesitation. 1t was
then my intention to write a carefully
prepared paper on the subject | have
selected and to give a more complete his
tory of the Augusta Fire Department.
Unfortunately, as we get older and buster,
time has habit of moving his wings
aware the time had come and found me
only partly prepared. Let me. then,
apologize for not following my original
ing for a future time the more finished
story, talk to you for few moments Oh
our old fire companies as | have learned
them from the lips of those growing olde,
few short months have passed from the
scene of this little history to the
Suburb of the life elysan.
Whose portal we call DEATH
In the earlier days of Augusta there
was comparatively little danger from
| hre. The houses We're large and roomy
and constructed of heavy hewn timber,
which at best would burn but slowly.
| Matches there were none; the fire being
kindled by flint and steel and then pre-
served over night by burying a burning
log beneath mound of ashes where i;
smouldered through the night until un.
covered in the morning. 1t appears from
an ancient town record shown me by Mr.
George Hamlin thatsone danger mus.
through the streets from one house to an
other. The order reads as follows:
Whereas the buildings and other
property of the inhabitants are often ir
danger by the practice of some person
smoking segars and carrying fire in tbs
streets:
Therefore. voted. That any person VIII
shall carry fire through the streets or o
lana, unless the same be secured and un
der cover so as to prevent any spark
from falling on the streets or on any
Il mr. in T,fs sb,,t IA4rr
in Hallowell improved by Mr.. Lamber
and the brook nearest and next south OF
Thomas tiinckley S and extending wes:er
y y Of Il the kennebec river fifty rods. o.
aforesaid on any of the tracts of land
without first obtaining leave therefor
from the select men for the time being
or shall put fire to or be found smoking
any Segars or Pipe without building
within the limits aforesaid. shall pay
fine not exceeding two dollars, nor les
son who shall prosecute and recover sait
hne in any court proper to determine tn,
same.
Recorded from the original. y
JOHN SEWALL, Town Clerk
have not looked this up to identif,
the date of the town meeting in whici
| It passed but give it as an illustration
the different methods of those days from
But huge as the chimneys were and in
trequent as the fires. still they were Otter
enough to cause alarm and to max
thinking men believe it time to be pre-
pared to meet the foe in some organize
form The lack of town records added
the .nS; fact that the newspapers of that da.
rellslousiy avoided printing any matter
having the slightest connection witt
nome matters renders it impossible t.
learn more of such matters than comes
within the ken of our older inha bitants
The I,,i first fire engine in this part of Main
Is sun in existence and although no
properly connected ,with my paper i:
worthy of some notice as probably tn
very first fire engine in Maine. and
tcdy of this society. This engine is tn
property of the Vaughn heirs in Halo
well. who have a summer residenc,
which was built by Benjamin Vaughn il
is still to be seen the little oid tub. l
has solid wooden discs for wheels which
are bound with half inch iron tires Th
body or tank is five and one-half feet
the pump with one cylinder. working
much the same as an ordinary kitchen
pump except that it is worked by a pain
water. but little leather buckets wer, r,
used. The connections are all of brass
to which is attached some fifty feet Of
leather hose about the size of those use6
on a lawn. being riveted and capped b,
a nozzle over three feet long lorcing >
half inch stream. 1T is painted on tn,
end .'B. Vaughn, Hallowell" and is be
lieved to have been brought from Eng
land a century ago.
1t was a little earlier than this that tn
first fire company of Augusta was formed
1t was an association of many of the
householders formed for the mutual pSo
lection of its members against fires
They were banded under printed lis
of articles or rules which required eacf
membeE. to keep ready at least tw,
leatheliibucketsyt according to the Massa
chusetts law) a3ld a canvas bag for the