Fire Fighting History
On January 27, 1904, one of the worst fires in the history of the City destroyed the lumber company and yards of White, Rider & Frost on Tonawanda Island, burning for four nights and three days. Once a lumber fire was underway, it often burned for days and called out every able bodied many in the Tonawandas. The Weston Lumber Yard fire on July 27, 1913, was by far the worst lumber fire in the Twin Cities, destroying 9 million board feet of lumber.
As of October 1, 1912 Active Hose, Alert Hose, Gratwick Hose, Live Hose & Sweeney Hose were the North Tonawanda Fire Department. The City approved the Active Hose establishment on March 6, 1886, according to the 1997 Centennial Book.
In 1947 a fire station was built at Payne Avenue and Walck Road for truck #2, hook & ladder.
On January 25, 1958, Live Hose Co. #4 dedicated its new fire hall at Goundry & Vandervoort Streets.
Active Hose present location is on Oliver Street at Sommer Street.
North Tonawanda Fire Companies
Over the years, the North Tonawanda Fire Department has been composed of a number of different fire companies. Listed below are the companies known to have existed and their current status as of 2004.
In 1897 when we became a City, there were six fire companies: Columbia Hook & Ladder, Rescue Fire Company, Active Hose Company, Live Hose Company, Gratwick Hose Company, and Sweeney Hose Company.
Council House on Thompson Street
1874 Village Council House was built on Thompson Street between Oliver Street and River Road. It included a fire house, jail, Council rooms, and a lookout tower.
* T. S. Fassett Chemical Engine Co. No. 1
Organized: July 7, 1879
Disbanded: Summer 1880
Source: Historical Society of the Tonawandas
** A. H. Crown Bucket Co.
Organized: May 1877 / February 16, 1880
Disbanded: Summer 1880
Source: Historical Society of the Tonawandas
Alert Hose Co. No. 1
Organized: July 7, 1881
Disbanded: December 11, 1913
Source: Tonawanda Herald - July 14, 1881
The Alert Hose Company was formed March 3, 1883, near the old labor hall on Tremont Street.
Active Hose Co. No. 2
Organized: March 10, 1886
Source: Tonawanda Herald - March 4, 1886
Active Hose Company at Oliver Street and Sommer Street in 2006
Founded in 1886
Hydrant Hose Co. No. 3
Organized: February 1, 1886
Disbanded: January 13, 1909
Source: Tonawanda Herald - February 4, 1886
In 1870 the Hydrant Hose Company fire station on Sweeney Street was established next to the Delaware Street bridge.
From a scrapbook kept by an anonymous history buff - courtesy of A. Dan Bille, North Tonawanda City Historian:
Scrappy
The fighting crew of the old Hydrant Hose Company liked to fight fires so much, they would first fight the men of any other fire company who raced to a North Tonawanda fire to see who got the pleasure of conquering the flames. Often the flames ended up as the victor as the firefighters spent their energies in a brawl rather than on the element of nature.
The Hydrant Hose Company was located near the Elks Club building.
Photo: Courtesy of North Tonawanda City Historian, Dan Bille
Live Hose Co. No. 4
Organized: March 26, 1887
Source: Tonawanda Herald - March 7, 1887
(Changed name to Deluge Hose Co. on January 4, 1889;
changed name back to Live Hose Co. on February 4, 1889)
The Village Council Hall and Live Hose Company - Circa 1895 - in the YMCA Building at Main and Tremonts Streets.
Rescue Fire Co. No. 5
Organized: January 26, 1891
1891 Rescue Fire Co. #5 was organized on Old Falls Blvd. near Lockport Road. Now located on Strad Avenue.
Photo: Courtesy of Jim Gadzik
Gratwick Hose Co. No. 6
Organized: February 12, 1890
Source: Tonawanda Herald - February 13, 1890
A Flashback column in the Tonawanda News by William Wittkowsky in recent years featured North Tonawanda's Gratwick Hose Co. members marching in the 1948 Twin Cities Firemen's Parade. The description explained that the men holding a lanyard were pulling a hose cart. However, the cart itself was not visible in the photograph.
For readers who may have wondered just what a hose cart looks like, the Gratwick Hose Co.'s original hose cart (1891) proudly posed amid members of the newly formed fire company, which at that time was located on Felton Street.
Photograph from Jack Vanslyke
Historical data from Glenn Graf
Photo by Cone and Co. Buffalo.
Appeared in the Tonawanda News Flashback Section - March 20, 2004
Lumberman's Rescue Hose Co. of Gratwick
Organized: September 10, 1891
Disbanded: Unknown
Sweeney Hose Co. No. 7
Organized: February 20, 1894
* T.S. Fassett Chemical Engine Co. No 2 and
** A. H. Crown Bucket Co. consolidated on May 20, 1880 and became Crown Bucket Co. Disbanded Summer of 1880.
** A. H. Crown Bucket Co. was originally a Village of Tonawanda Fire Company
organized in May 1877.
Historical Data: Courtesy of Daniel K. Evans, Historian - Columbia Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1, Inc. - March 2004
Images Courtesy of 1965 Centennial Magazine
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Early firefighting apparatus |
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One-horse power fire wagon
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1917 North Tonawanda's first fire truck. Fred Knight, Driver; Charles Doebler, Chief. |
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Ernest Dumke, who drove a hook and ladder truck for Columbia Hook & Ladder, on Oliver Street, date unknown. Photo courtesy of his niece, Leona Schroeder. |
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An undated photo of firemen in front of the original Columbia Hook and Ladder Company. Photo courtesy of Leona Schroeder. |