The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-11-20
MUSTERS.
The Good Old
Days.
HAND FIRE ENGINES
A Famous Muster Years
Ago in Worcester.

New England is the home of hand
fire engine musters. Here they origin
ated, and here they have houlished ass
nowhere else. Here the greatest mum
Der have taken place, and in Worces5 er
the largest of them all was held
From 1768, when Boston imported
from London the first fire engine on
this continent, followed in 1704 by tn
second and third, to the present time
there has always been a rivalry be-
tween hand engine organizations to
beat each other at throwing water,
either in quantity or at horizontal and
perpendicular playing.
Before 1922, when the first success
full suction fire engine was built, the
HydrauAon No. / of Providence, r. L.
built by Seller & Pennock of Philadel-
phia, and bucket filling engines, or
tubs as they We're then called, a
name still applied to hand engines, only
were in use, contests We're confined to
reaching a fire first, for which there
was q premium in some cities, and to
| throwing the most water on the flames
With suction engines, which came
into general use during the tWenties
anu LIllIlleS, CallG the custom Oh LDLI1l-
ing lines of engines at fires when the
water supply was some distance away;
that is, the first engine to arrive would
take suction at the water supply, play
through usually from 200 to 300 feet Of
hose into the next engine to arrive
which would in turn play from it's tub
into the next, and so on, until the fire
was reached. Some times as many as
a dozen engines would be in line in the
10 nj CtNt will
When in line in this manner, each
company would endeavor to give the
engine it was playing into more water
than it could pass along to the next,
and in time cause it's water to flow over
the sides of the engine it was playing
into, which was a wash, or if an en-
CINE could pass more water than it was
receiving from another, il would run
dry and suck air. This was known as
a suck" and every company striVed
constantly to wash or suck the other
engines, and to prevent, if possible, the
others from doing so to theirs.
Volumes could be written of the many
contests of this sort, which We're almost
as frequent as fires. The water supply
in those days was not what 1t is now;
water systems We're few, and ponds,
rivers, wells, etc, were the most used.
Contests, except at fires, We're very
few and far between in the earlier
DAYS of suction engines, and the few
that were held We're between Two COM
panies of local department only.
The first pre-aITanged contest be-
tween more than two hand engines,
and the first of the hand engine musterS
of the present time, took place at Al
enton, September H. 1912, between four
new 1-2-inch Zimmerman engines, pur-
chased by that town a few weeks pre-
vious.
This contest, like many others that
followed it, was what was then known
as tub and tub, the same as before de-
scribed. except that the last engine in
line played through open butt instead
Of a nozzle as at a fire. This is most
interesting and exciting contest, but
unsatisfactory in results as 1t was
never known Just how each engine
stood at the finish of it's one, two or
three minute playing time, usually one
minute although the victor of them all,
the one that did the best, could usually
be determined. With only two engines
in such a contest a just decision is less
difficult.
Between these same engines occurred
the second and third contests in 1915
and 49,
The first general muster open to all
engines was held at Ashland, October 6.
1S49. with eight contestants, the Mo-
L
Niagara 3 of Framingham, Mechanic 4
and Nonantum of Newton, Cold
Sucker / and Resolution 2 of Hopkin-
ton and Hercules 2 of Holliston The
playing was tub and tub, and Cochit-
uate was the victor.
From that time to the present there
have been more or less held every sea-
son, the largest number in any one
year was % the present season. The
largest number when only hand en-
gines were in the fire service before the
war of the rebellion, was in 1859, when
there were twelve.
Hand engines were in the zenith #
their existence between 1855 and 1860, at
which time steam fire engines came in
to service, and during the war super
seeded them in all the larger cities and
many towns. Hand engine musters by
active companies saw their best days
during that period.
On Worcester common, Friday. Sept.
8, 1857, was held the largest hand en-
gine muster this world ever saw, and