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Fire Chief Williams
established the first system for recording
fire losses in 1875, and a loss of $200,000
was recorded for a fire at the Houston City
Cotton Mills.
Firemen's Day
evolved into a tradition after the 1875
celebration of the Battle of San Jacinto.
Businesses always closed on the anniversary
date of the battle, and people would
celebrate. Firefighters decided to have a
parade during the celebration. Volunteer
companies from Dallas, Waco, Bryan, and
Hempstead were invited and led the parade.
Houston volunteers followed in their dress
uniforms and with their apparatus smartly
decorated. After the parade, fire companies
put on demonstrations with their apparatus.
A dance in the evening concluded the festive
day. It was a hit and became a custom for
many years.
John H. B. House of
Protection No. 1 was elected fire chief in
1876. Zach T. Hogan (Brooks No.5) was
elected first assistant chief, and C. C.
Beavins (H&L No. 1) was elected second
assistant chief.
On July 8, 1876, a
suspicious fire destroyed the giant market
and opera house on Market Square. Houston
city hall was housed in the huge complex.
The market house was built during the
Scanlan administration at a cost of
$400,000. It had opened only three years
earlier. Many citizens referred to the
building as "Houston's great white
elephant." Scanlon had underinsured the
market house for $100,000. The fire was the
fiercest conflagration ever experienced by
the fire department.
(It is said that
Thomas J. De Young rode bareback and without
bridle on one of the horses that pulled
Mechanic No. 6's pumper to the Market Square
fire. He was first on the scene and had
first water. Later, he and another nozzleman
became trapped on an upper floor of the
building. They were forced to climb down a
lightning rod to escape the inferno.)
 Construction
of a new markethouse began later in October.
The proceeds from the fire insurance covered
the cost of the new building. A new fire
bell was cast and hung in one of the towers.
The fire bell in the first markethouse had
been destroyed in the fire.
The city purchased two new Silsby
steamers on credit in 1877. One of the
steamers was given to Protection No. 1 and
the other steamer went to Brooks No. 5.
Joseph F. Meyer,
foreman of Stonewall No. 3, was elected fire
chief in 1877, after Fire Chief House
refused a second term.
A special call went
out for assistance from the Galveston Fire
Department in 1877. A fire that started in
the show rooms of the Mendenhall Carriage
Company on Congress between Main and Fannin
was spreading out of control. The fire
consumed many of the businesses on one side
of Mendenhall's. Some of the buildings were
four stories tall. Galveston firefighters
were credited with saving Gray's Opera House
on the other end of the fire. They made a
record run of 55 minutes to reach Houston on
the Galveston, Houston and Henderson
Railroad. Trains hauling firefighters and
fire apparatus were given the "high ball."
All passenger and freight trains on the main
line were switched to a siding until the
special train passed.
A 25-year contract
was let in 1878 for a municipal waterworks
using the water above tidewater of Buffalo
Bayou. A New York firm got the contract and
had the water lines laid by the following
summer.
Mechanic No. 6 got
a new side-bar Bolton hand pumper in 1878.
The company sold its old hand pumper to a
new junior company called Rescue No. 7.
(Junior fire companies, of which there were
several over the years, were comprised of
boys too young to join a regular company.)
A record for the
250-yard run was set by Mechanic No. 6 in
1878. They competed with fire companies from
across the state. For a 250-yard run, a team
was timed to see how fast it could get water
flowing through a nozzle after racing the
pumper 250 yards and connecting two lengths
of hose and the nozzle. It took the 21-man
team of Mechanic No. 6 forty-six seconds to
complete the race. The time set a record
that was never topped.
Martin Curtin
replaced Chief Meyer in 1879. He had been
second assistant fire chief under Chief
Meyer.
On July 10, 1879, a
fire tested the new water system which had
just been completed. The fire started in a
barbershop at Congress and Main and spread
to other buildings in the block. Pressure
was boosted to 80 pounds in the water mains.
Volunteers fought the raging blaze for two
hours before getting the fire under control.
The water system passed its first challenge
with flying colors. However, boosting
pressure for fires had its downside.
Citizens had to put up with water unfit to
drink for several days after a major fire.
In 1878, the
steamers given to Protection No. 1 and
Brooks No. 5 by the city were repossessed
after city fathers reneged on the loan. The
city was still trying to recover from the
indebtedness of Reconstruction. This left
both Protection No. 1 and Brooks No. 5
without an apparatus.
Stonewall No. 3
sold its Bolten pumper to the Beaumont Fire
Department and replaced the pumper in 1879
with the hose reel that had belonged to
Liberty No. 2. |
