Union Fire Company No. 1

THE UNION FIRE COMPANY

It appears that there was a fire company with an engine in Salem prior to 1821, for at a meeting of some of the young men of Salem on December 5, 1821, a resolution was adopted asking the members of this Company to give up the control of their engine to these young men –the founders of the present Union Fire Company. This early Company gives Salem the distinction of having one of the first, if not the earliest firefighting organizations in the State of New Jersey.

Following the December 5th meeting, thirteen men assembled on December 12th of the same year and organized the Union Fire Company. Josiah Miller, Jr., was elected President, with Richard P. Thompson, Secretary and Isaaz Z. Peterson, Treasurer. Committees for various purposes were appointed and the organization was complete. At a subsequent meeting John Cohorn, William G. Bersly and O.B. Stoughton were elected engineers.

In January 1825, a commodious engine house was completed. The room in which the meetings of the Company were held was given the name of Union Hall. The Company applied to the Council and the General Assembly of the State for an act of incorporation, which was passed on December 7, 1825. On January 9, 1826, following the passage of this act. Richard P. Thompson was elected President, Samuel Sherman, Vice President; James M. Hamish, Secretary; and Isaac Z. Peterson, Treasurer. At that time the Company possessed thirty- two active members.

In 1829 a new engine was purchased at a cost of three hundred and twenty five dollars. The engine first in use was sold to a company at Hancock's Bridge during the following year for one hundred and thirty dollars. This older engine seems to have disappeared for a time until some one discovered one of its wheels in a chicken coop in Hancock's Bridge. The wheel is now a cherished relic of the Union Company.

The new engine purchased in 1829 was evidently thought very powerful. Mention is made of its being able to throw a stream of water over the very top of the spire of the Court House. In the spring of 1840 a combined hose carriage, and bucket wagon was built at a cost of fifty dollars. At about the same time the Company succeeded in getting the Township Committee to appropriate for them one hundred dollars toward defraying expenses. This is the first record of any help from the township, all expenses being usually taken care of by the money received from members of the Company in dues and fines and by voluntary contributions from citizens. On July 31, 1840, the engineers were empowered to enlist boys over fifteen years of age and not exceeding twenty in number to take charge of the hose carriage and buckets.

A small suction engine was purchased in Baltimore on February 23, 1844. The arrival of this engine in Salem caused quite a celebration. A whole delegation went down to the wharf to meet it when it arrived and then paraded through town led by a band. This suction engine was later installed in the Washington Company's house.

In 1846 an engine was contracted for and built by Agnew, of Philadelphia, at a cost of about $800. This machine and the suction engine were replaced, however, by a fourth-class Silsby steamer in 1878, soon after the large conflagration that occurred in January of that year. This fire, one of the biggest in these parts, destroyed all the buildings on Broadway between the lot now occupied by Gorsen's Market and Star Hall Corner. Later, a two-wheel hose reel was added to the equipment of the Company. In the meantime the present building occupied by the Union Company had been completed by 1869.

In August 1912, a new 750 gallon second-size Metropolitan steamer was purchased to replace the old Silsby engine. This engine was built by the American, LaFrance Steam-Fire Engine Company, of Elmira, N.Y., for $5,250. Two black horses were bought by Council to draw this engine. The horses were also used for work on the streets.

In 1920 a gasoline-pumping engine was added to the equipment. It had a pump capacity of 600 gallons a minute and was purchased from the South Bend Fire Apparatus Company. In 1935 Council purchased a new Aherns Fox truck to replace the South Bend engine. The Aherns Fox machine has a pump capacity of 750 gallons a minute. It also has a hundred gallon booster tank.

LIBERTY HOOK AND LADDER COMPANY

The Liberty Hook and Ladder Company was instituted in 1866, and was made a permanent organization on February 19, 1867, with headquarters on the south side of Griffith street, just off Market street, that was converted into a residence. The first officers elected were Edward Calhoun, President; John Haverstick, Vice President; George M. Diamond, Secretary, and Albert Steiner , Treasurer.

The first apparatus of this Company was a truck, received June 1, 1866. This truck was replaced by a lighter one built to order in the Spring of 1881, costing $500. This outfit was sold some years ago for junk. In 1912 the City Council installed a horse-drawn chemical wagon with two 35-gallon tanks and equipment. The wagon was purchased from the Combination Ladder Company of Rhode Island at a cost of $1242. The Council also bought a horse to provide the means of locomotion for the wagon.

In 1917 the Council bought a city service truck with a forty-gallon chemical tank from the American, LaFrance Fire Engine Company. In 1915 the Council had the tanks from the horse-drawn chemical mounted on a Velie chassis, thus eliminating the horse. In 1928 the Council purchased a new chemical truck with the main equipment consisting of two fifty gallon and two twenty-five gallon tanks. The old chemical eventually went to the Daretown Fire Company.

WASHINGTON FIRE COMPANY

The Washington Fire Company was originally known as the Fenwick Fire Company and was organized in 1866. The first meeting was held on April 23, 1866, when John Ramsey was elected President, John Ballinger, Vice President; S. B. Smith, Secretary, and Robert Grier, Treasurer.

The Company continued under the name of Fenwick until April 9, 1878, when a meeting was called and a resolution passed changing the name to Washington. Some fireworks were occasioned by this change of name, but the resolution was carried by a vote of thirty to three.

The first engine in the possession of the Company was the old Reliance engine which was presented to them by the latter Company in December of 1867. This was subsequently replaced by a powerful engine purchased from the Washington Fire Company, of Wilmington, Delaware, for $400. When the new engine arrived from Wilmington on the "Major Reybold," the members of the Company staged a big parade in honor of the event.

After the installation of the water works the Company sold their engine to the Hand-in-Hand Fire Company, of Philadelphia, for one hundred dollars. The Hand-in-Hand Company is still in possession of the old engine, although it is no longer in use. The money received went toward the purchase of a specially built wagon to which a hose reel could be attached. A horse was bought at the same time to pull the apparatus.

The first engine house of the Washington Fire Company was rather a small affair. It was decided to tear this building down in 1880, and the present two-story brick building was erected in its place. A bell hangs in the cupola of this building.

In 1920 the City installed a combination hose and chemical truck purchased from the South Bend Motor Company. In addition to this machine the Company had a hand-operated engine know as the "Suction" which formerly belonged to the Union Company. This engine is capable of functioning today if it were put in shape. It came to the Washington Company in 1878 soon after the purchase of the Steam Engine for the Union Company.

NORTH BEND FIRE COMPANY

In 1904, some citizens in the lower end of the City, feeling the need of a fire company in that locality, held a meeting in the Brown Bottling Company building on Griffith and Front streets, with Frank Buckly as chairman and Joseph Whelan as Secretary. The Company was named the North Bend No. 4 and was organized with fifteen members. Frank H. Buckly was elected President; Joseph Whelan, Secretary, and John F. Taylor, Treasurer. Mr. Taylor served as Treasurer of the Company continuously until July, 1933. The first director was Joseph Sharp. After the institution of the Company, regular meetings were held in Plummer's grain house on Front Street.

Later, ground was procured to build a suitable firehouse from the Boone heirs. This was paid for by Frank Buckly, John F. Taylor and Isaac H. Bacon.

The first equipment for carrying hose was a pushcart housed In a smaller building at the Gayner Glass Works. The City presented the Company with 250 feet of hose. The first fire the Company responded to was at Jennie Murphy's store in the Patterson block on East Broadway. In the Spring of 1907 a fire house was built with money raised by popular subscription.

The next piece of apparatus was a four-wheel hose wagon formerly the property of the Union Company and later presented to the Salem Glass Works. The Company was incorporated on November 9, 1907. At that time it had a personnel of thirty-nine active members.

About this time the property and equipment was taken over by the City and came under municipal control. Up to this time they had been an independent Company. In 1907, during Josiah Miller's term as Mayor, the City purchased a two-wheel hose carriage.

In l914 the Company became dissatisfied with pulling the hose cart to fires and decided, to have a motor driven apparatus. With the money on hand and that raised by popular subscription they bought the old Salem- Bridgeton motorbus and had it converted into a truck, which would carry a thousand feet of hose. This rebuilt motorbus was the first motor driven fire apparatus south of Camden.

In April 1928, the City installed a triple combination truck having a pump capacity of 600 gallons a minute and a thirty-five gallon chemical tank.

A little bit of History

Ever wonder what the lights on the front of the fire house meant? As a child I seem to remember more lights than what are in this picture, but I found the following in a book in our safe: