Union City Village approves purchase of the village's first fire fighting equipment - May 28, 1872

To view other postings regarding the fire department ...click on Fire Department, or click on Fire Station in the Labels Column on the right side of the blog.

Comments from my brother Marty - On May 28, 1872, the village council appropriated $1,500 for the purpose of procuring a hand fire engine.  The following month a hand fire engine was purchased from Messrs, Rumsey & Company, of Seneca Falls, New York.  The early fire engine was able to move water to the fire scene but had no capacity to transport hose or ladders.  The purchase included 500 feet of rubber hose, necessary hose couplings, a ladder truck, and a hose cart which cost an additional $150.  The ladder wagon, (you have a picture of it) built by the American LaFrance Fire Engine Company, carried axes, pike poles, lanterns, buckets and other tools along with the ladders.  The equipment cost $1,489 with an additional $20 for freight.  When the engine arrived in July, it was christened "The St. Joseph." Water for fighting fires was provided from cisterns constructed in various parts of the village.  Of known cisterns, one was located in front of the Union City National Bank (SMB&T) and one was located on Barry Street. With the fire equipment, a fire department became necessary.  On February 4, 1873, a fire company was organized composed of 43 volunteer members. The fire engine was drawn by horses and the ladder wagon and hose cart by men. In 1876, a lot east of Broadway on East High Street was purchased form Mrs. A.P. West, for an engine house.  The two story brick engine house cost $2,450.  The building had a roof top bell tower which was used to call the firemen and notify the citizens of a fire. The hand engine serve very well until the spring of 1883 when a part of the east side of Broadway suffered a fire for a third time. In May, 1886 a new Button steam driven pump type fire engine was purchased.  The new steam fire engine arrived on June 10.  The engine was drawn by a team of horses which were stabled in the engine house. With the addition of a municipal water system in 1892 and expanded in 1894, the steam fire engine became obsolete and no longer saw service.  The fire department sold the steam fire engine to Homer. (Homer still has the fire engine.  I talked to a fireman at a basketball game about taking a picture.  He said I would have to wait several months as it had been sent out to be restored.  They are starting a fire museum.

Union City Fire Fighters - 1939

My brother Marty sent me the picture of the old fire ladder trailer that was used in the early 1900's in Union City.  See the posting below to see the ladder trailer that is on loan to the Michigan Firehouse Museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

Comments from Marty ....This 1939 picture is of three fireman with the ladder wagon. They are on East High Street in front of from the old fire station. Note they were pulling the wagon with a tractor instead of horses and also note the rubber fire bucket on the ground. The fireman on the right is Arthur Merchant. The other two are unknown. In the background is the vacant lot where the Union Hotel stood.

Early Fire Fighting Equipment from the Union City Fire Department

My brother Marty sent me these picture he took recently at the Michigan Firehouse Museum in Ypsilanti, Michigan.

http://www.michiganfirehousemuseum.org/

The equipment in the pictures below was loaned to the museum several years ago by the Union City Fire Department and were important firefighting equipment used in Union City in the early years of the Union City Fire Department.

Union City Fire Department - 1903

Note - Regarding the "Union City Fire Department" ...(from the publication titled "Historical Industrial and Social Record of Peerless Union City Michigan" edited, compiled, and published by Tom F. Robinson in March 1903), EARLY HISTORY OF UNION CITY, reads: ....FIRE DEPARTMENT - As is generally the case, Union City has upon several occa­sions suffered serious loss by fire, although of late years she has been remarkably free from disastrous conflagrations. In the earlier days there were only the most primitive methods for fighting fire, but in 1873 the attention of citizens was called to the urgent need of some sort of efficient fire protection, and May 28, 1872, the council made an appropriation of $1,500 and purchased a hand fire-engine, a hose-cart, and 500 feet of hose. The engine arrived in July of that year, and was christened "The St. Joseph." In February of the following year afire company consisting of forty-three volunteer members was organized and officers chosen as follows : Foreman, M. F. Rowe; Asst. Foreman, Geo. W. Hinkle; Secretary, E. B. Wheeler ; Treasurer, F. C. Rheubottom ; Pipeman, Henry Seymour ; Steward, R. F. Me Coy. A hose company was also formed and the two uniformed in June, 1873. A new fire company with thirty-three mem­bers was organized in 1875, called the "St. Joseph Fire Company," and in 1876 the present brick engine-house was built. The old fire com­pany was one of the best in the state and in the days of the firemen's tournaments it made some enviable records. In 1886 a fine new Button steam fire engine, together with all necessary ap­purtenances, was bought, and this did excellent service for nearly ten years, or until the estab­lishment of the present efficient system of water­works made the fire protection well-nigh perfect. The steamer is still retained, although its serv­ices have not been required since 1894. The present fire department is known as "The Union City Fire Department," and it has but twelve vol­unteer members, this number having proved amply sufficient. The officers and members are as fol­lows : W. H. Rowe (Chief), W. H. Wilbur (Asst. Chief), H. W. Bradner (Captain of Hose), Isaac Merritt, W. E. Rupright, Henry F. Woodruff, C. S. Hill, J. F. Wilder, Edward Steninger, C. A. White, Fred Burnham, and Will Palmer. Forty-two fire hydrants and an ample supply of hose give protection to every structure in the town, and it has been years since there was a fire of any importance.

Blacksmith/Livery Stable, City Hall, and Fire Department in Union City

The postcard from about 1910 was on East High Street. The building on the left was the a blacksmith shop/livery barn (Stan Smith commented that in our generation the blacksmith shop was known as Vic Ockerman’s blacksmith shop) , the next building was the City Hall-Fire Department. The building which housed the Fire Department was razed after the new Fire Station was built on Hammond Street.

Corner of Broadway at East High Street at the Union City Jubilee, September 25, 1908 - #7

The Barbecue ( a series of postcards) in Union City, Michigan celebrating a Jubilee event on September 25, 1908.

Note - The most likely event Union City would have been celebrating on September 25, 1908 would have been surviving the flood that devastated the town on March 8, 1908. The Broadway bridge was washed away, possibly the celebration was that the new bridge had been erected?? The postmarks on the postcards that celebrate the Jubilee are first seen in October of 1908. I am assuming the festival being celebrated on September 25, was in 1908.

Union City Jubilee, September 25, 1908 - #4

The Barbecue ( a series of postcards) in Union City, Michigan celebrating a Jubilee event on September 25, 1908.

Note - The most likely event Union City would have been celebrating on September 25, 1908 would have been surviving the flood that devastated the town on March 8, 1908. The Broadway bridge was washed away, possibly the celebration was that the new bridge had been erected?? The postmarks on the postcards that celebrate the Jubilee are first seen in October of 1908. I am assuming the festival being celebrated on September 25, was in 1908.