The star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1908-1909, 1908-05-30
VOLUNTEER FIRE
DEPARTMENT HAS
ONLY ANOTHER DAY
IrvingtOn Vamps Give Way to
Semi-Paid Organization
Monday.

The Irvington volunteer fire depart
ment, which was started sixteen years
ago, has but one day to live. Tomor-
row night, at midnight, it ceases to
exist and a ney semi-paid organization
will succeed it, and the days of the
'pickle barrels will be ended.
1t was sixteen years ago thai the
volunteer organization, or, rather, the
nucleus of the proposed organization,
was brought together in the shape of
a reel n a look and ladder, with
Chief Edward Tuttle in charge. These
Anticipated machines were located in a
one-story frame shack in Springfield
avenue, between Smith street and
Orange avenue. It is still standing,
and does duty as a blacksmith shop.
AS Irvington grew new companies
were added, and when the Town Hall
was built, in 1885,, it was made the
headquarters of three companies, Hose
Companies No. / Inc No. 2 and Truck
Company No. l. Then a combination
wagon was sent to a fire house in
Manhattan park. About four years
ago Hose Company No. 4 was given
one of the original "pickel barrels"
much to their disgust, and a company
was organized on the hill" Finally
the Normandy Park section demanded
fire protection, and Hose Company No.
1 was sent there.
This completed the department as
it exists today.
During the past two years 1t has
been demonstrated that Irvington's ire
protection was inadequate to cop with
such fires as double three and four
story flats or the big factories on En-
terprise Hill when they began to blaze.
The pressure was poor, the companies
dissatisfied and ~disorganized because
the councilmen would not listen to
their demands for recognition n bet
ter equipment, and the apparatus vas
tumbling apart. Their the Advertiser,
now THE EVENING STAR, revealed
the conditions, and some kinks devel-
oped in the town that set some of the
citizens to agitating fire protection.
The councilmen were conservative, and
when Councilman Frey, who acknowl-
edged the published statements to be
correct, drew up an ordinance creating
a paid department, he met with every
kind of trouble.
He fought for nearly two years, and.
finally, the original ordinance, almost
unchanged, was passed.
Then came stories of annexation ard
the dust began to fly around the coun-
Gil chambers. for fire protection was
among the arguments advanced by the
annexationists. A new combination
wagon, costing $500, was ordered; then
came the new automobile fire truck,
costing $4,000 a site for a sixth COM
pany was purchased on Enterprise Hill
to appease the factory owners, the old
'pickle barrel on the hill was sup
planted today with a better machine.
and Irvington will have the most CT
fective fire fighting department among
the outlying municipalities of the
county. The pressure n supply of
water has also been vastly improved
by the constructing of larger trunk
mains.
The volunteers, despite handicaps,
will wind up their career with a two
weeks record that would do credit to
any city department. In nine days
there were seven fires, not one of which
resulted in great damage, n the total
loss was only about $500. although one
Of the fires was a big barn filled with
hay and horses.
The department has averaged thirty
five fires a year., and there ave been
but five serious fires in the history of
the department. They were the Brush
Company fire, with a $4,000 loss: the
first Mergott fire, with a $4,000 loss; the
second Mergott fire, with a loss of $780,
900. the biggest fire Irvington yer had;
the Whitaker fire, with a loss of $4,000,
and the Weber ice house fire, loss about
10000.