Early Regulations

In the early 1900’s, the drivers of the wagons were not fire fighters at all. They were horsemen who had nothing to do with squirting water and never climbed a ladder unless it was to pull down some straw from the hay loft. But they were kept busy during the blaze, never-the-less, as the following city ordinance was in effect at the time:

“On arriving at a fire in cold or wet weather, the horses must be blanketed, and shall also, if practical, be housed in the nearest company’s quarters; if that cannot be done, they must be kept walking in the immediate vicinity of the fire.”

And there was no rest for the weary, because as soon as they returned to the station, the holsters and drivers had to perform these duties: “Examine the feet of all horses for nails, stones, injury from shoe calks; rub their legs well and wash them when sufficiently cool to do so, removing thoroughly all sand, mortar, snow, ice or anything improper to be on them, and rubbing until entirely dry.” And important point was that “neglect or ill-treatment of horses. . . is strictly forbidden.”

Those were also the times when the firemen remained in the stations night and day and the present shift system had not been devised. So one of the rules was that captains of companies “shall see that the beds are not used between the hours of 7 am and 7 pm, except when fatigue from night makes it necessary.” Also, “the Chief and captains shall politely escort visitors through the stations and make proper explanations to them; but shall not allow habitual lounging in or about quarters.”

A multitude of minor regulations, in the books, but not enforced, governed the firefighters at that time. For instance, “Religion or politics must not be discussed in or about department quarters. The fire department is organized and its members paid to contend with fires, not with any set of religious or political opinions.”