The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-11-28

Mr.. Bond s confectionery establish
ment in Fort street. The cook house
was a slight wooden structure when
was nearly consumed when the fire was
arrested. 1t originated from a stove
pipe. The loss was estimated at sSoU'
Coming of Insurance.
The same issue of the paper con-
tanned an item of the same tenor but
referring to another paper and Iater
in the week it was announced that the
occupant of the place had been leIt
destitute by the occurrence. OF course
these little blaZes were mere bagatelles
compared with the sailors fire or the
burning of the Varieties Theater on
the site of the present Won Holt build
ing. where the Gazette company now
is. That one burned two business
blocks and the police station. when
was then on King street. The loss was
estimated at the time as $25, 600. But
blessings followed. The damage was
great and the owners of property, ana
| Fhe merchants who carried large STOCK
of goods. considered ways and means OF
protection R. c. Janion entered into
correspondence with the California
agents of the North American lnsur-
ance Company, and secured the agency
| for the Islands.
The Varieties fire occurred July z,
| 1865, and there were two companies IN
existence: The Honolulu Fire Company,
with a roll call of seventy and the
| Mechanics No. 2 with eighty men. The
| Mechanics was not as old a company
as the one started by Mr.. Cartwright,
| the latter ranking it few months, and
| the usual rivalry existed and was ted
| whenever there was fire.
There was the usual fight for first
water and the Qualification after 1t was
secured. What followed the glory had
| better not be mentioned. The first eX-
| tinguishers were, of course, of the hand
variety and every fire meant harder
work than is experienced by the aver"
age fireman of this day.
The first of the kind was IN the
scrap heap out at Jimmy Lemon s place
| some wears ago, an object of regard OF
all the oldtime fremen who saw 1t as
they passed in the cars. Engines came
after the hand machines and steam was
the motive power for pumping the
water. As the town grew the demand
for more fire protection was with it
side by side, but it was eight years
after the organization of the Mechanics
that the Hawaii No. came into ex-
istence with a membership of sixty.
Real, Shiny Brass
These were elassed as engine COM
/ panies. and the year that gave birth
to the Hawaii No 4 let its sun shine
ON the brasswork of the Pacific Hose
Company, whose membership was com
posed largely of white men, the swells
of the period-men who usually ap-
peared on dress occasions in broadcloth
and silk tall hats. The Protection Hook
i and Ladder Company came into exist
! ence about the same time. These COM
panies were not Immediately admitted
into fellowship with those already in
the department. and in one instance it
is recorded that lapse of nearly a
year occurred between the organiza-
tion of a company and its recognition
by the department.
Fire Took Early Records.
! Complete data of the department is
not obtainable Charles Gulick, who
for number of years was its secre-
tary. lived where the Lewis brothers
now have a grocery store. Next was
the home of J. H. Thompson. and in
the same yard Mr.. Gulick had "a cot
tage and kept the records there. Gu
lick s house caught fire, and with the
fire came the destruction of the rec
ords Of the volunteer fire department
up to that date.
During the reign of the late VIII
liam c. Parke as marshal of the king
dom, he. by virtue of his office, con
sidered himself the First Engineer -
of the department, but he was not reg
ularlv elected, as was Cartwright, and
he held office ex oficio. Under the
marshal was an organization known as
the Fire Police. These men acted
somewhat as the policemen did, look
. ing after the goods as they were re-
moved from building and preventing
, looting. They did good service at every
. fire. There were no fixed districts III
those days and no regular signals. On
the discovery of fire there was a
, prompt changing of bells and shouts of
Fire House" by persons nearest the
scene.
Encouraging the Chinese.
; Notwithstanding the fact that many
. of the houses burned, up to that time
Txera Ownnd or oecuDied nv +ha Chi.