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Post by Deleted on Oct 11, 2007 17:54:40 GMT -5
The Belvedere Hotel fire 1967. Man wearing top coat in picture is Mayor Eret Kline. Mayor Kline was a member of the Columbus Fire Dept. from August 1, 1935 to August 1, 1961.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2007 18:32:53 GMT -5
Fire Prevention Week 1959, in picture are L - R.... Calvin Bray and Perry Croucher. This picture looks to be in front of Murphy's on Washington St. The engine in the picture is the 1917 American LaFrance.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 13, 2007 17:58:07 GMT -5
Members of the Dept. in 1951.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2007 12:11:55 GMT -5
The 1956 members of the Columbus Fire Department.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2007 18:30:01 GMT -5
This is a ribbon from the 16th annual Indiana Firemen's Association 1932 Convention, which was held here in Columbus.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2007 18:42:09 GMT -5
Don Perry's 1961 membership card.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 15, 2007 19:08:37 GMT -5
Jim Kailor and Kenny Campbell at Station No. 1, 1951.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 25, 2007 18:14:56 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Oct 27, 2007 13:45:02 GMT -5
In the background to the right can be seen the base fire station, it was located about 1/2 block to the east of the location of the new No.2 fire station. This photo appears to have been taken from the control tower.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 29, 2007 20:11:10 GMT -5
Station No.2 at a van fire on east 25th St. on Jan. the 9th. 1967, just a short time before new station No. 4 opened. In the picture Front to back are George Kelly, Lt. Clarence Fear and Loren Brown. The person with the camera is off duty firefighter Bernard Dewey. Note the Hardy guns on the booster lines.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2007 13:56:22 GMT -5
Breathing Life into Tilly By Matt Noblitt Public Information Officer Columbus, Indiana Fire Department As Public Information Officer for the Columbus Fire Department in Columbus Indiana, my job is to let the local radio stations and newspaper know what the Department has done on fires, EMS runs, and HAZMAT runs. Other obligations, such as giving talks at local schools and community organizations and scheduling our Fire Safety House are thrown into the bargain as well. Our Fire Safety House is a fantastic tool that we use to educate first and second grade children on how to deal with a fire in their home. Stop, drop and roll, crawl low under smoke, stay away from matches and lighters, candle safety, and escape plans are just some of the information the kids get from the program. I thought I could do more, maybe for younger kids of preschool age. That’s what started me thinking about what kids would have fun doing and help them learn some valuable tips to boot. So I jumped on the Internet to see what I could find and I came across “The Little Fire Truck Company” It is located in northern California, and is a tiller truck that was built for parades. It looked like a great idea; after all, what preschooler wouldn’t love to ride on a “real” fire truck. So I went to Gary Henderson, the Chief of the Department, and ask if I could attempt to build something like that. Of course his answer was - quote - “go for it”. I knew the key would be to find some type of vehicle to use to pull a trailer that the kids could ride on. I nosed around and got a few tips on where I might locate an old Cushman Utility Vehicle. After a couple of disappointments I struck pay dirt at Columbus Regional Hospital. They had an old Cushman Truckster that needed some work but ran great…. Perfect. That’s where “I” stopped building “Tilly” and “We” started building Tilly. I found out that I had no clue how to get this job done. I called on Mark Williams, our assistant mechanic, and asked for the much-needed help rebuilding the Cushman Truckster. The shocks and springs were just lying under the front end and were rusted completely out. Brakes were, let’s say, less an adequate, and we had to remove the dump bed and fabricate some sort of bed that would accommodate a fifth wheel hitch that was donated by a fellow firefighter and his wife. The little truck was looking like it might work. Curt Carlson, the mechanic for the City Police, gave me an old light bar and Mark and I cut 9 inches off each end and put it back together so it would fit the Cushman’s 30 inch cab width. Now we needed the trailer for the kids to ride in…hmmm….well if in doubt call Dad. My father, Robert, is a retired Draftsman, Mold maker, Business Owner, and heck, he knows everything, so who better to ask for help? I explained to Dad what I was up to and he couldn’t wait to get started. We went to the maintenance garage where I would be spending a lot of time for the next 4 months. We measured the Cushman top to bottom, back to front. Then we measured a full size ladder truck (did I mention Dad was a stickler for detail). In no time Dad had a complete set of drawings for the trailer. Now I needed to find yet another Cushman to rob the front end out of so we could steer from the back as well. That came from some fine folks at Hawthorn’s Golf and Country Club. With design in hand, I went to Ivy Tech welding teacher Bill Kahrs and he accepted it as a class project for his welding class. Metal donated by Kroot Corp. was delivered to the school and things were coming together. Mark and I took the Cushman to Classic Auto Body and Jimmy Bennett gave it a great red paint job to match the painted aluminum that we planed to use for the skin. David’s Fabricating donated their time and equipment to cut out the skin and bend diamond plate for the bumper and trim. Ivy Tech called and said the trailer was ready to go and we started welding in the rear steering. Then we took the whole rig to Dad’s garage to put treated plywood on the floor and sides. Test drives proved that the Cushman’s 22 hp OMC engine would be plenty strong, but it wasn’t until later that we found out that it would pull the rig even in high range and in third gear. Top speed is only about 25 mph, so we needed a second trailer to haul Tilly and her little trailer on, and it had to have at least a 27 foot bed. A local company was taking out some old house trailers after purchasing some land, and I stopped and ask if they could save me a frame. They had one the next morning that was 28 feet long and 55 inches between the wheels. That left us 2-1/2 inches on each side to get Tilly on board. That is a little close, but hey, it was donated and it will work. Tilly is not as large as the fire truck in California, but Dad had found room for 9 feet of bench seats on each side for the kids to ride. I started looking for oak. It is hard to find someone to donate 15 oak 1x4’s, but Southern Indiana Mill Works stepped in and gave us all the oak we needed, and Dad and I sanded, stained, routed, and sealed, and installed it. Now it was time to bend some more skin and diamond plate for the back half of the truck. Oh-oh - David’s is swamped with work - time to regroup. Scott Maley is a firefighter on the department and works his days off at DLI, a heating, air, and ding ding ding metal working company. We gave Dan Ledwinka, the owner, a call and he let me use the equipment at his shop. With Scott’s help the trimmings were ready in a couple of days. It took Dad and I two weeks to get the skin, diamond plate, and electrical installed. The project was shaping up nicely now, and it was time to install the fancy things. ASC graphics told me early on that they wanted to donate the striping and lettering. Wow, what a difference the graphics made! It really looked like a fire truck now. All we needed was a couple of axes and ladders and the outside would be done. Two polished brass axe heads were given by one of Mark’s buddies. They were polished on one side, so Dad and I were going to put one with the head forward and one with the head backward. Next day I found that Dad had polished the backside of one of the heads to a mirror finish (did I mention Dad was a stickler for detail) so both axes could face the same way. Dan Lanham, our Deputy Chief, gave me an old telephone company ladder with wood rails and aluminum rungs, but the wood was in terrible shape from lying on the ground for years, plus it wasn’t really the size to meet the scale we needed. Well, that wouldn’t do so back to the mill to ask for some wood. They were gracious enough to donate four Poplar 2x4’s, so we sanded, stained, routed, and sealed the rungs for what would be our new rails. We used a saws-all to cut the rungs down to size and built and installed the ladders. Now the project was close to finished. We still need some tunes for the kids to listen to. I went to where my Son was working and ripped out his c.d. player. I installed it in Tilly’s cab, then went to Wal-Mart and bought a set of outdoor speakers for a boat and put them behind the cab so the kids could hear M.C. Axe and the fire crew sing songs about fire safety while they ride. We still needed to find someone to put a headliner in and the door covers on, but otherwise it was ready to go. Dad and I loaded it on our trailer, took it back to the maintenance garage, took the booms off, and -BANG- the trailer bent in the middle, all the way to the ground in the rear. Now what are we going to do! Mark is on the job and he said all we needed to do was cut the fenders off, cut the axles out from under it and add ¼ thick 2x4 square tubing to the rails with 3 inch channel iron supports between them. I couldn’t even think of what all this was going to entail, but in no time he had it road ready. This was a 6-month project and I owe so many people thanks, not to mention all the rides I promised to those that donated. In all it has been a great experience for me to spend some extra time with Dad working side by side. I was pleasantly surprised at how all the people in the community stepped up at the mention of the project. It is positive proof for all to see that everyone will do what they can to keep our most valuable resource, our children, safe. I hope Tilly will be a tool we use for years to come in order to teach our children the importance of fire safety.
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Post by Ricky_Berkey on Nov 16, 2007 17:03:01 GMT -5
FIRE DEPT. IN 1896. the fire wagons were newer than any of our fire trucks. The only old piece of equipment shown above is the hose cart on the left, with Oliver Strawn as driver. On the new one-horse hose wagons are Ed Stofer and, to the right, George Lacy. William Hendricks is driver of the two-horse ladder wagon, with Ralph Owens beside him. The two men standing are Walter Doup and William P. May, members of the Volunteer Company. Note muddy, unpaved Fifth Street. George, Thanx for all this great Fire Department history. Do you know about what year the horses were phased out in favor of the trucks? Were the horses stabled in the station? Would a fire crew be staying in the building in those days?
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2007 20:53:38 GMT -5
Ricky........the department was motorized in 1918 at station No.1 and two years latter station No.2 at 13th and Hutchins Ave. was motorized. The horses were stabled in the back part of the fire station, their hay and straw were stored above the stables in a loft. The horses were trained that when the alarm sounded and the stall gates opened they would go and stand in front of the fire wagons at that time the harness which was suspended above then from the ceiling would be released on the the horses and fasten and they were ready to go. In 1895 when the new No.1 on 5th St. was opened the city hired a full time fire chief and four paid firemen, there were at that time 22 volunteers. The paid members did stay at the station, it is my understanding they would be on duty at the station for several days at a time before getting a day off, that being one member at a time. A lot of the members would live near the stations so they could go home to eat and still be near the station in case there was an alarm.
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Post by Ricky_Berkey on Nov 17, 2007 8:20:16 GMT -5
Ricky........the department was motorized in 1918 at station No.1 and two years latter station No.2 at 13th and Hutchins Ave. was motorized. I'll bet it took a lot to convince the public (and the firefighters) that the new-fangled motorized units were reliable enough to respond when needed. I hope the horses were given a proper retirement farm and not just sent to the glue factory. I'll bet the firefighters had developed a close relationship with those horse teams.
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Post by nancs on Nov 18, 2007 7:22:21 GMT -5
The firemen thought highly of the horses and I'm sure that all of them went to good homes for retirement. The son of one of our past fire chiefs has a rather large painting of Dandy hanging in his family room at home, yes the horses were well thought of. Just thinking outloud on the cost of these fire house horses. One, they had to have outstanding qualities as far as 'horse flesh' would go, plus have had extensive training to fulfill their job. Noting the price paid---------and not knowing how the cost of a dollar might compare----------it seems to me that their purchase would have been quite an investment in those days for the fire department. In thinking back to the 1940s, a really good pleasure horse was going for between $ 100 and $ 200. Would it not be fairly safe to think that the purchase of a fire deparment horse would be likened to getting a top notch engine in a fire truck now? Nanc
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2007 15:29:20 GMT -5
Nanc.......having owned horses, and you still do, I was a bit surprised at the price of the horses also. The personal income back them would have been much,much less than today. A man's horse back then was highly valued, as they still are today,but back then if a person stole one he could very well end up with a little lead in his hind end ;D
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Post by nancs on Nov 18, 2007 17:34:32 GMT -5
Nanc.......having owned horses, and you still do, I was a bit surprised at the price of the horses also. The personal income back them would have been much,much less than today. A man's horse back then was highly valued, as they still are today,but back then if a person stole one he could very well end up with a little lead in his hind end ;D Well, curiosity got the best of me------and I tried a variety of searches-----tried to find personal income info in the late 1800s, no luck, finally looked for info on fire horses, and found this site: www.publicsafety.net/dalmatian.htmWithin, it makes mention that fire horses were used from the end of the Civil War until about 1915. More interestingly, it mentions that a 'good fire horse' took up to two years of training. Nanc's thinking says: Just the cost of the training, even back then, would have been quite costly!!!!! Once a possible horse was located and purchased, think about the cost to just feed and stable it until it could be put into service.And not just any horse would make 'the cut' as many factors were to be considered-------strength, stamina, and just plain natural ability. Nanc thinks: to even find an appropriate creature/horse would be time consuming. And I suppose, just like today, it takes a special dog to be a K-9 police dog, and takes much effort before it can become of service to a police department. Not every dog makes it------------neither do all 'intended' guide dogs always end in the hands of a person needing a service dog. This is a really interesting link, do check it out, it states that the time and effort and expense to put a fire horse into service was more than the cost of ten firemen. Taking this information and looking at the price per horse that Columbus spent in 1899----------these were some very special horses, and you know were well cared for, just as the motorized units are always in tip top condition today. Lots of food for thought. And a big thanks and tip of the hat to devoted firemen of then and now. Nanc
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2007 12:03:58 GMT -5
Nanc...thanks very much for the great website, this is a little history and how well the horses were trained.
History of Department Fire Department harks back to 1835, when the village became an incorporated town and a volunteer fire brigade was formed. It was not until 1852, however, that the city owned any actual fire-fighting equipment. Before that, the fighting was done with buckets, and the fighters not only volunteered their good offices, but furnished their own buckets. The first piece of equipment purchased in the decade before the Civil War was a two-wheel cart, which carried buckets and ladders, and was drawn by the firemen by means of ropes. Equipment which used water under pressure did not come, of course, until the city water works was completed in 1871. The city council then provided for purchase of a hand-drawn hose reel. This was housed in a small building, hardly better than a shed, which stood on old RaiJroad Square, later Comercial Park, and now the site of the new Tabernacle Christian Church. The shed stood about where the church tower rises, except closer to Fifth Street. Later the council bought two one-horse hose reels. These were kept in livery barns until the St. Denis fire in 1894 destroyed the Shea & Fahy barn to the rear of the hotel. One of the hose reels and fire horses were in the barn at the time. The horse had been trained to take his place under the harness when the alarm sounded, and this he did. But the fire travelled so fast that the hose reel was destroyed before it could be removed-and the horse with it, standing steadfastly in place before it. It was this fire and the disastrous American Starch Company blaze in the next year which led the city to buy the ground next the City Hall and erect No.1 fire house in 1895
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2007 16:22:29 GMT -5
This fire was Jan. 1979, the school was repaired and reopen and was used though the 2006 school year, being replaced by a new school in 2007.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2007 17:59:01 GMT -5
RESIDENTS ESCAPE FLAMES -Columbus firefighter David Dwyer, top left, takes a breather Sunday morning after saving a resident during a fire in an apartment house at 725 Pearl. Other residents escaped the burning building by climbing down ropes made of bed sheets, right photo, or jumping from second floor windows. They were awakened by two of their neighbors who ran through the building yelling and pounding on doors. The fire was started by a electric fan that had shorted out. This fire was June 11, 1979.
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