Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-04-09
Fire Fighting
Quarter Century
Ago and in 1914

People who have claimed Marshall
town as their home during compare
tive recent years and the boys and girls
of today, who see two red devil"
motor trucks answering alarms of fire,
and who will soon see a motor hook
and ladder in service. do not realize
the Improvement made in the fire.
fighting equipment OF Marshalltown
that has been made in twenty Ave
years. In fact. the improvement has
been made in half of a quarter of a
century, but the agitation for better
equipment started twentyti five years
ago
But the resident of twenty five and
even thirteen years ogO. remembers the
was sounded. and the spectacle of one
man Juggling at a hose cart trying to
get to the scene Of action was thrust
upon the vision.
Mayhap Jim" Clients team was
pressed into service. and the clang,
clang Of the bell called the strangers
attention to the fire department" and
caused a laugh. If the Glenn team
didn't happen to be handy Mons" Levi
might be seen trying to get to the fire
alone. 1t wasn't, however. that the
! old volunteer department didn't do
good work--it was the looks of the
thing-that hurt
! Twenty five years ago next Saturday.
! April II, 1889, the Times Republican
started agitation for paid depart
ment. 1t was not until thirteen years
later that the dream was realized. and
| a central station, with horse-drawn
| truck. was installed. This mode of
answering alarms, the best there was
| twelve years ago has now been dis
carded for the motor truck.
| The agitation that was started for a
paid department q quarter of century
ago, without doubt written by S. c.
Mcfarland himself, then editor of the
Times Republican appeared as fol-
lows:
"Marshalltown has the best volun-
| teer fire department in the west. The
record prove it. 1t can be depended
upon under all ordinary circumstances.
Yet there have been and will be oc-
casions when even splendid energy and
! hard running can not compete with
the progress Of fires that, taken in
their incipiency, could be easily con-
| trolled.
.Marshalltown is now pretty we'll
spread out, and to reach fires in the
outlying residence portions it is gen.
orally necessary for two or more carts
to splice nose, merely because cn=
cart can only carry certain amount.
There is generally some delay turning
in an alarm. Added to shat is the time
necessarily lost by the boys getting to
their houses. The run follows, long
or short, as the case may be. In bad
weather it is impossible to take to the
streets, and it is almost equally i'm
possible. without eangers to men and
carts. to make rapfostime on the side
walks. All this has been emphasized
time and time again in a practical way
1T seems as If the time had arrived
when, as measure Of prudence and
economy, our volunteer system should
be supplemented by a central station
supplied with a team and cart, and
kept in constant readiness. At least
1t will do no harm to discuss the mat
ter Of expense and theSnscessity. Now
is the time for that discussion. rather
than wait, az 10 usual. for 1t to be pre-
cipitated by some disaster more than
usually severe Such . station need
not be at once the jfull-fledged and
fully equipped model now to be seen in
every city Of $4,000 population in the
country. It could be made practical.
and of vast service on more modest
scale. Thus strengthened, our fire pro-
lection would be most complete, and
every property holder in the city feel
an increased security"