The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-08-18
OUR VETERAN VISIT( Rs.
The Men Who Ran the Old Time
Fire Engines.
r.
THREE DIFFERENT PERIODS OF
FIRE FIGHTING.

Portland Had Fifteen Companies IN the
Early Days and Hundreds of Old Fire
men Still Live and Work Here.
This is the day of the man with the red
shirt. To the younger generation it re.
veals the past. To the older it revives it.
The man with the red shirt is the man |
of the middle of the century. If he have
grey hair. and possibly limps as he |
marches he is the genuine article. The |
sons of veterans are all right. The real
old veteran Of 1910 and 1850 are better.
Portland is a good place for an as
semblage Of old fremen. Many of its
foremost citizens have been connected
with It's fire department from its earliest
days. 1t has been swept by confiagration
one of which fills page in the political
and the other in the social history OF the
country. The days Of CONGREGATIONS have
gone by. There az no better men now
than there were fifty years ago, but the
mn chine supersedes the man.
To some extent 1t supersedes him but
the man behind the gun will always
+ be the decisive factor. There have been
: three important periods in the history OF
, fire fighting in this century. The present,
Fits predecessor which was the period of
hand engines and volunteer companies,
and the distant days of four score years
ago. As to the fret, in the order of tim g
let us quote an old clergyman: In an
address few years ago in which he de-
scribed the Portland of his youthful
days, the Rev. ]. Z. 6. Nichols of Saco,
said: "There were no steam fire engines.
Every householder was required by law to
sskeep pair of leather buckets, a fire bag
and bed key, and carry or send them to /
the fire. How many people know what
a bed key is or what were the contents of
a fire bag? MIR. Nichols continued: "All
persons present at fire might be called
upon to form lines, by one of which the
buckets of water were passed to the fire,
and by the other the empty buckets
handed back. Even ladies not infrequent-
" lend their add This was the first
period When fire got started then it
had it's own way.
Then came the proud days of hand
engines. Portland had them almost
century ago, but they would send water
twenty feet and think their duty done.
Little by little the standard of work was
raised There were more powerful engines
and men learned how to get work out of
them. To the young or even middle aged
man of today the steam fire engine is the
only one, but there are hundreds of men
in the city vino used to run with heold
machines. This was in days when Neal
Dow and S. r. Leavitt and Ii. G. Barnes
and such men were at the head of the de-
part1nent. There were no professional
fire fighters then. The business had not
been reduced to science. 1t is surprising
to find how many there are who point
with pride to the fact that they helped
drag old Deluge or Casco or Young
America BALI century ago.
The city had long list of companies in
the early ffties. There were hose COM
panies and hook and ladder companies
and these engine companies: Cesco
No. 1, located at the corner of Spring and
South streets; Atlantic, No. 2, Lime
street; Volunteer, No. 8, Milk and Lime;
Ocean. No. 4, Casco street; Portland No.
3, franklin street; Young America, No.
6, Spring near State street; Deluge, No. I
2, Casco street; Dirigo No. 8, Congress
near Smith; Pacific, No. 9, Munioy hill.
Then there were the old Cataract ant: the
Hydraulion. Go anywhere you please
today and if you find two grey headed
Portlanders, you can stir up a controversy
as to the relative merits of these old tubs.
1t was in October, 1859, that this city re
ceived her first steam tire engine, and the
doom of5the famous old machines was
sealed.
Big musters like that of today were
not frequent in this region for the facili-
ties for travel were not what they are
now, but friendly visits were often ex-
changed between companies. An old resi-.
dent was telling yesterday of a visit which
Eagle of Bangor paid to Portland in
1s4S. The company was quartered at
Ryerson's hotel, about where Owen,
Moore & Co. IS store now stands. The
tavern mysteriously took fire in the night
and guests and entertainers had taste
Of each others capabilities Yet there
was big muster at Worcester some forty
years ago when more than one hundred
companies were present and participated
In the parade and contest and general
festivity.
Sometimes these men were not little
lambs. Tho New England firemen were
never disorderly like the old Philadelphia
aremen, at the time Of the Moyamensing
riots. "Mose," the Bowery Boy, was not
dowD-eastsr. But they were young and
strcng and eager and fiery. 1t was not
ItEanse that sometimes things happened.