The Chariton department had 29 members. It now has 35. In that early day, equipment was horse drawn and hand powered. By the time they reached a fire, pulling their share of the heavy load, they were too winded to do much fire-fighting.
It is thought that, prior to 1900, some of the old equipment was traded in on ‘Old Betsy’.
The water supply has always been a problem. There were cisterns in the beginning but these were filled and covered when the courthouse lawn was enlarged. There was also the city lake where Yocom Park is now. In 1908-09 the city water system was laid but the mains did not reach to the far ends of town. The going was rough. It took rugged individuals with a deep sense of the community’s welfare to stay, but stay they did.
They had a fine team of horses, rated the best in the state. They had won prizes at state conventions. The city fathers thought the horses should pay their way so they put them to work on the streets. When the fire whistle blew, the fires could burn merrily on while the firemen were frantically trying to locate the horses, get them hooked up and on the go.
There have been improvements in the water supply but there is still inadequacy. In 1950 a rescue truck was purchased by the department but with added donations from public-spirited people in both town and country. That same year the city bought a new truck and sold the old one to a junk dealer who gave it to a city park for the kiddies to play with.
Chariton has had its share of big fires. They have gone around the square. In 1901 or 1902 from the southwest corner to the north side of the present city hall, two men were hired to set a fire. The destruction was total and the men served five years in prison.
In the winter of 1902 or 1903 the west side burned from the alley to Braden Avenue. It started in the old opera house on the corner where the Montgomery Ward store is now. It was a bitter cold night, below zero and a sleet storm was on. The faces of the firemen were even sleeted over. The hoses froze and there was a water shortage.
In 1905 the northwest side of the square burned from Main Street to the First State Bank building. Next was the section from the alley east where there were several interior small fires with property damage but no loss of buildings.
Sometime from 1914 to 1916 the northeast corner where the Charitone Hotel now stands, was the site of Palmer’s Department Store. It was a one story building covered with sheetiron. Again the weather was frigid and the firemen’s coats froze on them. In 1908 or 1909 the east side burned from the alley south to the baker building. This was the first fire fought with city water from the mains and before the job had been ok’d by the city council to the contractor.
In the first night of the new year of 1928 at 20 below zero, fire broke out in the Hollinger and Larimer building – the second bad fire on the Montgomery Ward corner. The fire burned stubbornly all night and the firemen fought just as stubbornly all night. Their clothing froze on them. Two firemen who were holding hoses steadily on the fire were frozen to the pavement and had to be chopped loose. Ladders were frozen to the outside walls and could not be taken down for two days. The building was covered with ice, and icicles were hanging all over. This writer remembers one man saying with great anguish, ‘the firemen have had an awful night.’ Only the ice walls were left.
Mr. and Mrs. Merritt Nolan lived in an apartment on the second floor. Pete was a fireman and was out with the fire. Mrs. Nolan had gotten out and was across the square trying to get word to Pete. He was found lying across the bed having been overcome by smoke.
In 1929 the south side burned from the alley east to where Young’s Furniture Store is now. There were several buildings housing various businesses, including Sam Goff’s restaurant where the fire started. The three story theater building had offices and apartments on the second floor and the K. P. Hall on the third.
An eyewitness can never forget the shattering sight and sound when that three story wall collapsed. Then the tall chimney stood stark and sinister against the smoke filled sky and they had to dynamite it. They had to dynamite a wall on the east side to keep the fire from going clear to the corner.
Fire departments from Russell, Indianola, Ottumwa and Albia responded to the call. However, Ottumwa, in their mad dash to get here, had a wreck with their truck and never arrived. The old steamer was pulled out of mothballs and used for the last time. All buildings were a complete loss but the only casualty was Mary Kinkead’s pet canary.
After the fire, more mains were laid in hopes of solving the water problem but alas, the solution was not yet.
The last day of March 1965 saw the Kubetchek building, built in 1896, burn out from Main Street to Holder’s Shoe Repair shop. To this fire came departments from Williamson, Lucas, Russell, Corydon, Knoxville, and Osceola. The mains and the pumper at the lake were not large enough to deliver the amount of water that the pumpers at the fire could handle.
Chariton has had many other fires which space forbids recounting here but there is one other which must be told. The Eikenberry flour, feed mill, and elevator burned in 1913. It was located where Stone Motor and Implement company is located now. Frank Schaffer, a sharpshooter veteran of the Spanish American war was night watch. He had observed two suspicious looking characters cruising around town and around the square a time or two. They had managed to set the elevator fire as a foil in their plan to rob the corner bank. It was set to start late in the date, and as usual, most people hurried to the fire.
Frank Schaffer went over for a very little while, then returned to the square and stayed in the shadows of the trees in the courtyard where he could watch all movements around the square. He was widely known and his prowess as a night watchman was widely acclaimed.
Finally the would be robbers decided it might be healthier for them to leave. Two years later they were caught in Nebraska for other crimes and during questioning they confessed that they had burned an elevator in Chariton, Iowa, in order to rob a bank.
Until about 1940 it was not uncommon to have a hundred or more calls a year – most in town. But with improved roofs, better chimneys, improvements in electrical wiring and fire inspection programs, the calls per year have dropped by half, even including the rescue and rural calls. Also, the telephone call system and instantaneous action by the departments has been a great discouragement to arsonists.
The firemen do not neglect the social side of life but take pride in their traditional amenities toward the community. First on the list is the annual banquet where the menu could not be equaled by any chef in the country because it contains more good will than any chef can measure out.
It is the one event of the year that they rely on to raise funds for their uniforms, expenses to the state convention and other community activities. The 1972 banquet was their 96th.
The public has been generous to the firemen. This is one way of showing appreciation for the hazardous work they do for all of us. They hold a Christmas party for the younger set and a family picnic in mid summer. They honor their departed members each spring near Memorial Day when they hold a special service. Flowers are gathered and made into bouquets on a Sabbath morning. They attend church service in a body, then in the early afternoon, proceed to the cemeteries both in and out of town and decorate the graves. June 2, 1962 a monument of graceful dignity was dedicated in the Chariton Cemetery to honor all deceased members of the department.
Each year some of the members attend the fire school at Ames for three or four days. They are shown the latest chemical treatments for fires, taught improved methods and techniques in fire fighting and in first aid. In short, they are given an across the board schooling in everything that pertains to fires. Seventy five percent of the men are instructed in First Aid and there are two who have advanced instruction in this important area of the service.
In contemplation of the many fires, there comes the arresting question, ‘How could there be no loss of life and no loss of limb through 95 years of fire history?’
The answer seems to be in a high level of organization, coordination and practiced efficiency. Much is in the mind of the chief. He with his staff are knowledgeable about the town, its buildings and its lay out as concerns fire. During a fire he knows where every man is; he calls the roll every little while and accounts for each man; a lone man is forbidden to enter a burning building – there must always be two, and the Chief must know who and where they are. The ancient Greeks used the foliage of the laurel to crown the victors in the Pythian games and also as a mark of distinction for certain offices and functions well done.
Now and Everymore – A crown of Laurel to each and everyone of our Lucas County Volunteer Firemen!
At the recent Annual Firemen’s Convention in Oelwein, Iowa, the Chariton department participated in all contests, competing with one hundred and four other departments. They captured the coveted State Title in firefighting expertise, edging out two runners up to take State honors. Dick Base is Chief and Bill Fisher is Captain.
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