This antique fire apparatus is decked out with flags as for a parade in front of the Marion County Courthouse in Salem in this undated photo (Ben Maxwell collection/Salem Public Library)
Sue Bell (1932-2019) for many years until her passing, wrote numerous local historical research articles for local newspapers and numerous Salem focused articles as the editor for Willamette Valley Genealogical Society’s quarterly, Beaver Briefs. This article appeared in part in BB Vol. 48, No. 4 and is reprinted in slightly edited form with permission.
As Ben Maxwell commented in his May 2, 1951 article in the Capital Journal, “Oldtime Salem burned easily, Oldtime Salem burned frequently.” Wooden structures for the most part, saloons were particularly susceptible to fire; the few homes in town at the time were also in grave danger from open hearths used for cooking and heating. Insurance was some distance in the future, so there was no other alternative than to cut your losses and rebuild as quickly as possible.
When the first Capitol building went up in smoke December of 1855 (accident or arson was never determined), the town fathers addressed the issue of fire safety. A call to citizens on Dec. 4 1857 by I. R. Moores, George K. Shiel and Meyer Hirsch generated an enthusiastic response to the danger of fire in the growing little town of Salem.
That meeting, in the lower rooms of the Masonic building, resulted in the formation of Salem’s first fire company: Alert Hook and Ladder Company No. 1.
In January of 1856, a site was selected in the alley behind Holman’s block for a station to house the “truck” and apparatus for fighting fire. A fire bell installed on the premises was purchased by funds raised by the company and remained in service until the 4™ of July in 1860 when too vigorous ringing of the bell on the nation’s birthday broke it.
The volunteer firemen and their equipment of the Alert Hook and Ladder Fire company as seen in 1861. The group stands on Commercial Street in front of a two story brick building, where D. McCully, Starkey & Co. and a cash store are located. There is a balcony on the second floor with a group of people sitting there. On the right of the building is a log cabin. The fire company was located on 58 State Street.(Ben Maxwell collection/Salem Public Library)
Another event featuring the “Red Shirts” of Co. No. 1 commemorated Washington’s birthday, Feb. 22 1858, when the first firemen’s contingent paraded down Salem’s main street.
For the next six years after their founding, the “Alerts” were capable of controlling any small fires in the downtown area, but 1863’s monstrous blazes tested their skill and mettle.
The first occurred in a tavern – “Patch-eye” Byrnes’ Crystal Saloon, where discouraged or ill miners from the Santiam country gathered to enjoy “red-eye for 10 cents and a black eye free,” according to Maxwell.
About 3 a.m. on May 10 a crackling fire was discovered at the rear of the saloon and before the volunteers could be called out to quench the blaze, exploding barrels and bottles of liquor at the saloon spread the fire to all the downtown area of wooden stores and businesses. The fire centered on the west side of Commercial between State and Ferry, but miraculously spared one landmark in the area, thanks to the heroic efforts of one Sam Bass, an Alert volunteer, who took it upon himself to save the Headquarters, Jones & Cooke’s mercantile store at 703 N. High Street. Perched on the roof, Sam doused hot embers as they landed and spread wet blankets to deter further damage.
Other buildings were not so lucky: the total loss by fire was $25,000 (a huge amount in 1863). Even those whose establishments weren’t completely destroyed had damage from the heat in peeling paint and broken windows.
Just a year later another conflagration ripped through downtown Salem, this time in a hotel. The Mansion House at State & Liberty was the victim when a fire started in Room 3 of the three-story wooden structure July 25, 1864. In this case, there was no hero to save surrounding buildings; within 40 minutes, everything on the south side of State Street from Liberty to High went up in flames, save for one: George K. Shiel’s law office on High Street. Damage from this disaster came to $35,000, but in the pioneer spirit that originally inspired the settlement of Salem, new structures arose quickly as soon as the ashes were cleared.
In the absence of phones or pagers in those days, it’s a wonder anything was saved from these blazes; apparently, the fire bell was effective in summoning help. After the first bell was cracked, another was purchased. Mounted on a wooden scaffold on Liberty Street between High and Court, it became an attractive nuisance as this article indicates:
NARROW ESCAPE-Two little boys were busy ringing the old fire bell yesterday, when it became detached from its fastenings and fell to the ground. One of the boys only escaped being caught by the falling bell and killed, by a gymnastic performance which would have done credit to the Turn Vereins. (Daily Oregon Statesman, Aug. 7 1873)
ARRIVED-The fire bell recently purchased for the city was discharged from the Jno. L. Stephens yesterday morning, and will probably be up to-day. Its entire weight, including tongue and wheel is 3,100 pounds, and the bell alone tips the scales at 2,900 pounds. It was manufactured at the brass foundry of W. T. Garrett, San Francisco, and is finished in beautiful style. Our people may well be proud of this alarm bell, as its tones may be heard for several miles, when placed in position. (Daily Oregon Statesman, Sept. 5, 1973)
Four days later, Editor Bush pronounced the new bell as “nifty.” It was installed in the old tower behind the “Fashion Stables.”
Less than two weeks later the new bell proved its worth by calling firemen to a potential disaster:
FIRE ALARM-Yesterday about 11 o’clock the new fire bell sounded the alarm of fire. Immediately all was bustle and excitement, and a hurrying of the firemen for their engines. A dense smoke in the northeastern part of the city indicated a fire of no small dimensions. Thither all rushed, to find that what was supposed to be a terrible and destructive conflagration was only the burning of the dry grass in an enclosure near the residence of Mr. Dan Waldo. There was no particular damage done, but there might have been but for the presence of the firemen, as there was danger of the fire communicating to the brush fences and a house that stood near. We do not remember an alarm of fire which was so quickly responded to as this one. The Salem Fire Department was out in full force in a remarkably short time. To Capital No. 1 belongs the honor of throwing first water. (Daily Oregon Statesman, Sept. 18, 1873)
By this time, Salem’s fire department had expanded both in personnel and equipment. Two more fire companies had been formed: Capital Engine Co. No. 1 (organized as the “Webfoots” Jan. 26 1865) and Tiger Engine Co. No. 2 (organized May 20 1869). The formation of these three groups set up a fierce competition amongst the companies as to who was first on the scene, who was credited with most success in dousing the flames, which company won in athletic contests, and so on.
This Salem antique fire apparatus is sitting in front of the old Salem City Hall. It was horse-drawn as the double tree fastended to the tongue in front of the attests. The hose is very large. (Ben Maxwell collection/Salem Public Library)
Equipment-wise, the Council had authorized a levy to buy a new hand pumper from San Francisco for $1,500 on April 22 1869 to join an older pumper bought from a Portland firm, second-hand, for $1,800 in 1865. A campaign in the Statesman had urged this 1869 purchase as the one pumper and bucket brigades weren’t doing the job; further, it admonished property owners to replace their vulnerable wooden homes and businesses with more substantial fire-retardant structures.
The major gain for the City Council’s decision was another hotel fire in November 1869 when the Mansion House (renamed Capitol House) burned again. At 1 a.m. a fire was discovered in the hotel’s kitchen by the watchman; he alerted the guests to exit quickly as a high wind was spreading the flames despite a drizzle of rain. Everyone escaped unharmed tho’ often only in their night clothes. An hour later the roof collapsed. The fire department was onsite but helpless when the cistern ran dry.
Many of Salem’s downtown buildings survive to the present day because of the fire departments’ loyal volunteers; not until 1903 did a paid department come into being. At that time, fire crews and equipment were housed in City Hall, finished in 1896; the department shared the ground floor (the ceilings had to be raised above the horse stalls so the horses wouldn’t bump their heads when the fire alarm sounded). The fire bell was installed in the city hall tower.
TORN DOWN-Since the fire-bell has been placed in the city hall tower the city has had no use for the old wooden tower, which stood in the alley back of the Fashion stables, and it was sold to Charles Moffitt who tore it down yesterday and removed the lumber to his place in the suburbs. The structure was erected about a quarter of a century ago. (Daily Oregon Statesman, Feb. 4, 1898)
When City Hall was demolished in 1972, preparatory to the move to a new location at the Civic Center, the fire bell and flag pole went along to the new fire station.
A proud tradition stretching back a century and a half, Salem’s Fire Department provides a vital service to its citizens from a number of stations scattered around the city – unsung heroes all.
Editor’s note: This column is part of an effort from Salem Reporter to highlight local history in collaboration with area historians and historical organizations. If you have any feedback or would like to participate in Salem Reporter’s local history series, please contact managing editor Rachel Alexander at [email protected].
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