Evening star., 1901-06-06
THE OLD-TIME FIREMEN
Sketch Read by MIR. j. j. Peabody O
Veteran Organization.

Sketch Read by MIR. j. j. Peabody of
Veteran Organization.
regular meeting of the Veteran Volun-
teer F1remens Association was held Tues
day evening at the engine house, 10Th and
II streets northwest fraternal letter
was received from the Louisville veterans
A photograph OF the bell Of the Northern
Liberty Company mounted on a truck and
attended by four veterans, taken on the
occasion of the reception to the District
regiment on its return from Cuba, was
received 1t was announced that two of
the veterans shown in the picture-Messrs
Walling and Carr-have answered their
last alarm.
The secretary Of the association, Mr.. J.
j. Peabody, read the first part Of his Sec
ond chapter on the history Of the old de-
partment. The preceding chapter sketched
the history to 1915, when the war had left
the community In a disOrganiZed condition
and the fire organizations disbanded or
crippled The engine houses and appara-
tus on Capitol Hill, the Columbia, and at
the treasury had been destroyed by the
British. Though but few fires had taken
place to prompt measures to combat the
merry foe, the community had barely re-
sumed it's normal condition before steps
were taken for the reorganization of the
fire companies
Mr. Peabody referred to the act of March
=, 1873. authorizing the organization Of a
ilre company in each of the four wards
east being the dividing lines. This act gave
each company the right to elect officers
make rules. &c, conferred power on the
ofhcers. the president vice president of
the first company, to arrive at fire to
take charge. preserve order and to compel
citizens to assist and disorderly persons to
leave &c. The regulations for household
ers to provide for buckets which were to
hA fnoD tod
IN this law. 1t carried an appropriation of
Sl1o to procure ladders, fire hooks, axes
crowbars and leather buckets for the com
panies.
1915. notice was printed calling a meeting
of citizens Of the first ward for the fol-
lowing evening at the Franklin House for
the purpose OF organizing fire company
according to then late law Of the corpo-
ration. 1t Is not known that the company
was organized at that time but before the
close of the following year 1t had an en-
gine and its appurtenances. That there
was call for a fire service is seen by the
card OF s. N. Smallwood and Mord Booth
In the Intelligencer of May %, 1915. thank
ing neighbors and fellow citizens most cor
daily for their exertions Saturday morn
ing in removing furniture when their
houses were expected to be enveloped in
flames. In these expressions Of graft
tude the women Of the families sincerely
united. particularly to those by whose
friendly care and activity they were so
Immediately removed from the dwellings
without the slightest injury" These houses
were on Virginia avenue southeast and
Mr.. Smallwood was afterward mayor Of
Washington.
The advertisement Of John Achman. a
coppersmith and fire engine maker on
Pennsylvania avenue near the Seven build
ings. appeared in the Intelligencer during
July. He called attention to an engine for
sale on moderate terms.
July p. 1915, meeting was called at
ONeals Franklin House, and 21st streets.
to consider the propriety Of forming a COM
pany and purchasing an engine for the
first ward, but no account Of the meeting
followed.
The city commissioners-Wm. Waters.
Henry Herford. Henry Ingle and John w.
Brashears-in the Intelligencer of March
Is. 1916, gave notice that the second Mon
day in April they would examine the fire
buckets the citizens are required to keen.
and expressed the hope that they would be
relieved of the disagreeable necessity of
imposing the penalty fixed by the law.
1t would appear, said Mr.. Peabody, that
about this period the want of organiza-
tfon of companies and the condition of
what little apparatus had been procured.
engaged the attention Of the councils. An
act OF May 10. 1916. required the mayor to
appoint two citizens Of the second and
third wards- with the commissioner OF
each Of those wards, to examine the en-