History of the Danville Fire Department

EARLY FIRE DEPARTMENT HISTORY
 
Copied from Danville Fire Dept. 1975 Annual Report - Composed and written by Fire Chief Richard Eaglen

     The warning clang of the fire bell that scattered pedestrians and sent dogs scurrying before the charge of straining horses pulling a cozy-looking red boiler belching smoke and flame has faded into the past years. And the predecessor of this early fire engine, the hand-drawn cart, must have presented a ludicrous sight as it was tugged pell-mell down the street behind a queue of sweating firemen.
But that was yesterday and the minutes then spent in hitching horses at the sound of an alarm have today become the split second touch to a starter button. Other equipment and apparatus have improved accordingly.
On February 12, 1858 William McCormick, Levin T. Palmer, a Mr. Lamm and several others gathered around a table at McCormick's Tavern, then the meeting house of the town, and mapped the foundation for Danville's first fire department. Lamm was elected chief.
Equipment was a prime requisite and it was when they went about securing it that they ran into difficulty. Money was scarce in those days and it was nearly a year before they managed to collect enough to buy the first ropes, tackles and buckets and have hooks made. But by January 1859 this equipment was acquired and housed in a small frame fire station which was located next to the Danville Citizen, an early newspaper which stood on the site of the Breese Tower.
They Snubbed Editor
The editor and publisher of The Citizen had been a fly in the fire department's ointment and when the group drew up it's constitution and by-laws in February they effectually snubbed him for his past opposition to their undertaking and had their printing done in Lafayette, Indiana.
The original company, which was also quite a social organization, listed 20 men, 13 of whom were officers. Apparently no one wanted to play unless he could be an officer.
As provided in the constitution, all members of the department were to hurry to the scene of a fire or to wait for the truck to go by. Violation of rules and regulations was followed by a fine of $1 and a transgressor was expelled on his second offense. There is no record of the rate of pay but it is assumed that these early firemen were paid nothing unless the honor and prestige of being a member of the department was ample reward.
First Hand Pumps
In 1861 the department got it's first hand pumps. These were queer contraptions with an intake hose at one end and an exhaust at the other. Water was pumped through this machinery and the pressure increased by means of horizontal bars on two sides which were alternately pumped up and down by the firemen. Crude as it was, it still was considered a vast improvement over the bucket brigade.
In 1867, when the Danville City Charter was approved, fire protection became an official responsibility of the city.
Chapter 10 of the Danville City Charter not only provided for a Fire Department, but established fire prevention regulations and building restrictions to prevent the rapid spread of fire and conflagrations.
The fire department was reorganized and became known as Lincoln Fire Company No. 1, with 40 volunteer members.
It's apparatus at that time consisted of a horse drawn truck and later in that same year the city bought a second hand fire engine and 299 feet of leather hose for $1,200.
In 1872 the department was again reorganized, with efficiency as an end. The crew was cut to 16 members, and each was paid a small salary according to services rendered, and the city's ability to pay.
A Citizens Committee headed by W.H.Taylor was appointed to purchase a steam fire engine and make other improvements in the fire department.
The Committee purchased Silsby steamers in 1872 and again in 1875.
Reorganization was a big thing in the early history of the fire department. In 1879 it underwent still another. The office of Fire Chief was created and W.H.Taylor was appointed the first Chief in recognition of the successful leadership he had provided in improving and modernizing the department over the previous eight years.
Chief Taylor was to hold this position for the next twenty years, during which time the department continued to improve and provide fire protection. Without the efforts of these dedicated and hardy men, downtown Danville would have disappeared on numberless occasions.

First Motorized Fire Trucks
In 1911 Danville purchased it's first motorized fire apparatus, an American LaFrance chemical and hose truck, and placed it in service at No. 6 Station located on Madison Square. The name plate of this station is still visible over the door of the present establishment there today.
Complete motorization took place by 1919. The city purchased a 750 gallon pumper, a hose truck, and a hook and ladder truck with a 65 foot cantilevered wood ladder.
No. 6 Station at Madison Square and No.3 Station at Collette and Main were closed in 1919 and the era of romanticism of horses and steaming pumpers came to a close.
During the period of 1879 to 1935 the firemen were appointed by the patronage system.
With a "here today - gone tomorrow" system, professionalism was impossible, but due to heroism and rugged individualism the city endured.
In 1935 the department came under a form of Civil Service, known as the Fire and Police Act. now there was a sense of job security, and the department began to professionalize it's training and developed a continuity of command.
At the end of World War 2 a new breed of men, fresh from military service, began to mix ranks with the older and seasoned veterans of the hardship years.
In February 1953 Headquarters Company left it's home at 28 North Walnut for the last time, and moved to quarters in the new City Building at Hazel and Seminary. Now located at the corner of Griffin and English streets, Headquarters is located at Number 3 fire station.
The old station built in 1880, and which had housed the horses, steamers, chain drives, and modern pumpers, was to give way for the new Parking Garage to come twenty years later.
In 1970, old No. 4 Station, at Main and Bremer, which had been partially destroyed by fire itself in 1941, was replaced with a modern two bay facility.
To all of those who served and persevered form those humble beginnings in 1858 and down through the years, belongs a share of the credit for today's Modern Fire Department of 63 trained and certified Officers and Firefighters, who man five modern pumpers, a 100 foot and 75 foot aerial, and Rescue Units
The above history of course stops at the year 1975, and this is the year 2002. Many changes have taken place in those 25 years, chiefs have come and gone, equipment has been updated, buildings have been replaced, and new faces are everywhere. I hope in the next page to bring you up to date on the Danville Fire Department 2001.
Top