First Fire Trucks in Loudoun
After two
large fires, the Town of Purcellville ordered its first motorized fire engine
in 1923. A few weeks later, the Purcellville Volunteer Fire Company; second in
the County, was organized as Company 2. Current research indicates that the
first motorized fire engine in Loudoun County arrived on Friday, July 26, 1923,
when Purcellville’s new chemical fire engine was delivered. This pumper would
soon be in use; not only in the Town, but in many of the neighboring
communities.
From Hand Pumpers to Fire Trucks
On
February 2, 1925, the Leesburg High School building on North Street was
destroyed. The building was located a good distance from the nearest fire
hydrant, making it difficult to get water onto the fire. The Purcellville Fire
Company assisted with their chemical engine but the fire had too much of a head
start and the school was destroyed.
Just like
the 1819 fire, the 1925 School Fire brought needed change to the Town and the
Fire Department. Chief Leon T. Frye and a committee from the Fire Company,
worked with the Town Council to procure modern firefighting apparatus. Several
weeks later, a 1925 Seagrave Suburbanite was purchased with Town funds. A Graham-Dodge pumper was also purchased and converted
into a ladder truck by extending the frame rails and adding ladder racks. The chemical tank remained on the ladder
truck and was functional.
LVFC 1925 Seagrave
Pumper. Times Mirror, 1925, LVFC Collection
LVFC 1925 Graham-Dodge
Ladder Truck. Times Mirror, 1925, LVFC Collection
The
Company also increased the number of members from twenty to twenty-five. This
limitation goes back to 1870, when the Town reorganized the Fire Department and
began providing a yearly payment. In 1907 that number was reduced from
forty-five to fifteen men, then increased to twenty a few years later. The
twenty-five-member limit was a company by-law until the 1970’s when call volume
necessitated more firefighters.
If you look closely at the hood of each vehicle, you will see that the new engine was designated "L.F. Co. No. 1" (Leesburg Fire Company Number 1) and the ladder truck was "L.F. Co. No. 2". These companies were a throwback to the days when there were two separate fire companies in Leesburg. After combining into the Leesburg Fire Company, two units were maintained within the company. In 1925, both Company 1 and 2 had a Captain, Lieutenant, drivers and firemen assigned, while the Chief was in charge of the whole Department. Each fireman had a job assignment as well. This was one of the changes brought about by the High School fire, so that in the future, each man would know his duty and responsibility at a call. The three Company 1 assignments were Nozzle, Pump, and Plug, while Company 2 had Nozzles, Pump, Plug, Hose and Ladders.
If you look closely at the hood of each vehicle, you will see that the new engine was designated "L.F. Co. No. 1" (Leesburg Fire Company Number 1) and the ladder truck was "L.F. Co. No. 2". These companies were a throwback to the days when there were two separate fire companies in Leesburg. After combining into the Leesburg Fire Company, two units were maintained within the company. In 1925, both Company 1 and 2 had a Captain, Lieutenant, drivers and firemen assigned, while the Chief was in charge of the whole Department. Each fireman had a job assignment as well. This was one of the changes brought about by the High School fire, so that in the future, each man would know his duty and responsibility at a call. The three Company 1 assignments were Nozzle, Pump, and Plug, while Company 2 had Nozzles, Pump, Plug, Hose and Ladders.
Leesburg
Equipped with Modern and Adequate Fire Fighting Apparatus
The
following newspaper article from the June 1925 Times Mirror describes the
Company at the time. It also reflects the pride and respect that the Town had
in the Fire Company. A detailed account of our actual history can be found in our book - "The Lost History of the Leesburg Volunteers."
“Leesburg should take a justifiable pride in
the steady and well considered progress of her public institutions and
organizations which has been made during recent years since the interest,
alertness and progressiveness of the citizenry of any town can be accurately
judged by the growth and development of its community enterprises. Certainly,
no other of Leesburg’s organizations had developed more than the splendidly
trained and modernly equipped Leesburg Fire Company.
It is regrettable that the official records of
the personnel and the equipment of the first organized fire company are not in
existence but the older citizens recall that more than fifty years ago Leesburg
had such an organization manned then, as now, by capable and efficient firemen.
Its equipment was meager as well as crude and consisted of an engine mounted on
wheels. It may be described as a huge pump that required twelve men to operate.
Water was supplied by cisterns which were located at convenient placed of the
business section of the Town. They were built by the town for the purpose of
furnishing a supply of water in case of fire. The first engine to be installed
here, it is said, was called the “Virginian.”
An independent company was in existence and it too was equipped with an
engine of the same style. These two companies zealously vied with each other
for the honor of arriving first at the scene of the fire. In recalling the
manner and method of the successful fire battles of that day no record would be
satisfactory without mentioning the volunteer bucket brigade conducted by
William Thomas, who many years ago operated a tin shop in Leesburg. At the
first alarm of fire this well-disposed citizen collected from his store a large
number of buckets, quickly locked his place of business and started for the
scene of the fire, distributing his buckets as he went and many are the times
when his brigade successfully extinguished the blaze.
In January 1901, from the oldest records
available it is found that the United Fire Company of Leesburg was in
operation. W W Divine was Captain, J N Sampsell, secretary, David Curry, James
Forsythe and R D Clagget directors.
In January 1907, the Leesburg Fire Department
was organized with the following officers: Henry Casey, Captain and J N
Sampsell secretary. It was about this time that the reels and fire hose were
purchased since the town had installed waterworks and provided fire plugs on
every block. This company continued in operation until March 1925.
Able bodied citizens gave their assistance
when it was needed and these several organizations performed their duties
valiantly and heroic lifesaving many thousands of dollars in property besides
safeguarding the lives of the people of this town. These organizations gave way
to the new ones and many of the members resigned that their places might be
filled with younger men. Their services were faithful and their reward is amply
compensated in the fulfilling a high duty of citizenship.
In February 1925 when the disastrous fire
destroyed the new Leesburg High School building, steps were taken to
re-organize the Leesburg Fire Department and to provide better firefighting
equipment. In March of that year, the Leesburg Fire Company was organized. It
was realized that the firefighting equipment should be supplemented by a modern
fire engine and other accessories, the better to safeguard lives and the
property and the people of the town. With dispatch and determination,
characteristic of the personnel of the town council and the fire company, a new
Seagrave Triple Combination engine costing $6500.00 was purchased. The engine
is capable of forcing a heavy stream of water seventy-five feet in the air and
is mounted on a truck that has a speed of about thirty-five miles an hour. It
carries a chemical pump and extinguishers, 250 feet of chemical hose and 1250
feet of fire hose.
The people of Leesburg and the County were
asked to contribute to the purchase of a ladder truck, which they did willingly
and generously with the result that a Graham -Dodge truck with a chemical
equipment was bought at an approximate cost of $5000.00. It carries about 250
feet of chemical hose and 1250 feet of fire hose. New ladders have been secured
and much other and modern and useful equipment, all of which arrived about four
months ago, giving to Leesburg the best fire protection of any town its size in
northern Virginia, Fire insurance companies have recognized this by making
substantial reductions in insurance rates.”
Another
improvement happened in November 1925, when the Fire Company purchased a siren
and installed it next to the alarm bell, in the belfry of the opera house. When
the telephone operator across the street at the C&P Telephone Company
received a call for a fire, they would either activate the siren using a switch
or run over to the opera house and use the switch on the building. It wasn’t
until 1927, that the siren was consistently activated for out of town calls.
When the alarm did sound, the first fireman to arrive at the station would call
the operator to get the address, then write it on the black board before
responding. That way, the rest of the arriving members would know where to go
after the first truck left.
What Happened to the Old Hand Drawn Apparatus?
At the
turn of the century, the Fire Company still had two hand pumpers and at least
two hose carts that were owned by the Town. With the improvements to the Waterworks,
the hand pumpers were rarely used but the Firemen were still running through
Leesburg with the hose carts until 1925, when the first fire trucks were
purchased. There was no mention of the pumpers in the Town Council minutes or
the newspapers after 1907 and their fate has been a mystery. Recently, a Times
Mirror newspaper article from July 21, 1927, was discovered at the Balch
Library. It reported that a fire of undetermined origin had destroyed a small
stable, located near the Town water pumps and tank. A valuable horse owned by
the town and used for hauling garbage, perished in the flames. The article
noted - “The contents, none of which were
saved, consisted of harnesses, a quantity of hay and obsolete firefighting
equipment.” The building and contents were all but destroyed at the time
the fire was discovered.
The hose
reels were probably still in the engine house on Loudoun Street, so it is
assumed that the hand pumpers were the “obsolete firefighting equipment” stored
in the shed. Company documents from 1925 indicate that the reels were still
maintained and used to bring extra hose when needed. In 1927, at least one of
the reels was still stored in the station.
This last remaining reel was rumored to have been stored in a shed on
the fire company property in the 1950’s or 60’s, when the shed was burned for
training.
First
Parade and Trophy
Beginning
in the early 1920’s, the Washington D.C. police and firefighters held an annual
baseball game to raise money for the Widows and Orphan’s fund. To improve
attendance, on September 11, 1926 a parade was held through the city and fire
companies from the local area were invited. The more distant companies, such as
Leesburg, did not receive an invitation because the organizers assumed they
were too far away to make the trip. The Leesburg Firemen, however, wrote the
organizers requesting permission to enter the parade, and were welcomed. They
were rewarded for their efforts by winning the Schwartz Company Award – for the
company that traveled the longest distance to take part in the parade!
The ten Firemen; wearing special parade uniforms, who rode up
Pennsylvania Avenue on the “handsomely
decorated” ladder truck, were Chief L.T. Frye, L.F. Atwell, Joe Oliver,
Dave McDonald, C. Roland Atwell, Leon H. Frye, James Jackson, M.D. Atwell, Nels
Nelson and A.B. Atwell. Several weeks later, Chief L.T. Frye traveled to
Washington to receive the large silver cup, which was later displayed in the
front window of Nielen’s store in downtown Leesburg.
Leesburg Firemen ride in
the D.C. Parade - Loudoun Times Newspaper Photo, Balch Library
1925 photo of Barney,
Gene and Tom, making a run shortly before being retired. Washington Post
Newspaper Clipping, DJ Wimer Collection
|
The most popular attraction in the
parade was Barney, Gene and Tom, the last team of Washington fire horses to
be retired from active service. Hitched to an old horse-drawn pumper, the big
white Percherons strolled down the avenue, drawing great applause. This
parade would continue to be a D.C. tradition for many more years.
Above - Chief L.T.
Frye, far left, front row, after receiving the Schwartz Trophy in Washington
D.C. - Evening Star Newspaper, chroniclingamerica.loc.gov
|
Nielson's Department Store, King St. Leesburg
David Frye Collection, LVFC
Two years
later in 1928, the Leesburg Fire Company was again invited to participate in
the Annual Firemen’s Parade in Washington D.C. The firemen unanimously voted to
attend and paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue with their Seagrave pumper, ladder
truck and an old hose reel. The parade had grown rapidly in the two years since
the last time Leesburg had entered, bringing fire companies from as far away as
New York to participate. The Leesburg Firemen did not win a prize this time.
Early
County-Wide Fire Protection
Loudoun
County began seeing telephones installed as early as 1885. By the 1920’s, much
of Northern Virginia was connected and residents called the operator for help
during an emergency. The telephone system allowed for an increase of fire
protection to the outlying communities. However, the only fire protection at
the time, came from Purcellville and Leesburg, who were paid per mile by the
County to answer calls outside of their towns. From the 1920’s to the 1940’s,
it was not uncommon to find Purcellville, Leesburg, Herndon, McLean, Vienna,
Falls Church and Alexandria responding long distances to assist each other on
major fires.
Chief
M.R. Lowenbach replaced Leon Frye in 1926 and went on to serve until 1931. On
March 23, 1926, the Town of Hamilton suffered a devastating fire that wiped out
its business center. With no water
system, the citizens formed bucket brigades and were assisted by fire apparatus
from Purcellville and Leesburg. An engine from Washington, DC was, also,
requested; but it broke a spring in Fairfax and had to be towed home. The fire
was a terrible loss, from which the Town was slow to recover.
On May 3, 1927, the Leesburg firemen responded to a
fire in the Town of Herndon which destroyed the Herndon Seed Company and a row
of six garages, putting the entire business district in danger. When the flames
threatened the National Bank of Herndon, all of the money and fixtures were
removed. The Number 5 Engine Company responded from Washington, while
assistance was also given by fire companies from Falls Church, McLean and
Clarendon. As a result of this fire, and several others that year, the Town of
Herndon reorganized its fire protection which consisted of a citizen’s
organization, one Chief and a Model T chemical engine stored in a garage. In
October 1929, the Herndon Volunteer Fire Company was formerly chartered.
The East Loudoun Street Station
In
September 1927, the firemen moved out of the town hall and into the new fire
station which had been built next door, on the east side of the building,
facing Loudoun Street. One advantage of the station was its location. If a
fire truck wouldn’t start, the firemen simply pushed it out, turn left onto
Loudoun Street, let it roll down the hill and popped the clutch.
|
Leesburg’s east Loudoun
Street Station. LVFC Archives, Circa 1929 To the left is the
opera house. The large, white doorway was the original apparatus bay.
|
Old Number 3
In October, 1927, the motor of the Seagrave pumper
blew up while responding with fifteen men to the high school fire in Herndon. The
Town of Leesburg paid $475.00 to have a Seagrave mechanic come out and replace
the motor. As a result of this large expenditure, the Fire Company was not
allowed to run calls outside of Town unless the Mayor approved. However, there
has been no record found that would indicate a request for assistance had ever
been refused. Two years later, the Fire Company split the cost of a new engine
with the Town and purchased a 1929 Seagrave pumper to run out of town
calls. The new pumper’s designation was
“Co. 3”, while the first engine was “Co. 1” and the ladder truck “Co. 2”. This
is why even though Leesburg is “Company 1,” (signifying the first Fire Company
in Loudoun County) our restored 1929 antique Seagrave is referred to as “Old
Number 3”. These companies were a throwback
to the days when there were two separate fire companies in Leesburg. After
combining into the Leesburg Fire Company, two units were maintained within the
company, each with a captain, a lieutenant and several men. With the arrival of
the 1929 Seagrave, a third company was formed. After several years, the fire
company went back to having only Company 1 and Company 2.
Seagrave Factory Photo of the 1929 Leesburg Fire Company pumper
LVFC Archive Photo
Almost 15 men on the 1929 Seagrave during a staged photo shoot on a closed street in 2018. This gives us some idea of what the trip to Herndon might have looked like on the old 1925 Seagrave.
Photo - James Fazekas
Early Mutual
Aid
During the
period from 1925 to the late 1930’s, there were only two fire companies with
motorized apparatus in Loudoun County. In northern Virginia, there were the
Winchester, Purcellville, Leesburg, Herndon, Fairfax, McLean and Vienna
Alexandria and Washington D.C. Fire Departments. The Leesburg Firemen were
responding to assist with large fires as far away as Herndon and Marshall Virginia,
as well as all over Loudoun County.
In April
27,1932, a fire spread rapidly through the upper story of the Leesburg Inn in
downtown Leesburg. The quick response and strenuous efforts of the firefighters
from Leesburg, Purcellville, Herndon, McLean, Vienna, Falls Church, Alexandria
and Warrenton saved the building from total destruction. A year later, on April
12, a large part of the business section of Leesburg was destroyed by a fire
that started in Jacks Bowling Alley. Herndon and Purcellville assisted in
saving the rest of the block.
On February 18, 1934, a fire destroyed several buildings and
threatened the Town of Middleburg. It was 40 minutes before the Leesburg Fire
Department, eighteen miles away, could reach the scene and assist the citizens
of the bucket brigade. Soon after, Warrenton, Purcellville and Herndon
volunteer fire companies arrived and helped control the blaze. Two years later,
in 1936, the Middleburg Volunteer Fire Department was incorporated and
designated Company 3.
The
traveling continued in 1933, when members of the Leesburg Fire Company attended
the State Firemen’s Association in Suffolk Virginia, by way of steam boat out
of Washington DC. In 1935, there were 32 fires for the Company, totaling 672
miles and in 1937, there were thirty-three fires, both in and out of town. The
Company was averaging over twenty miles per call and it was taking a toll on
the apparatus, so in June 1937, the Town and the Fire Company agreed to split
the cost of a new pumper. The 1937 Seagrave was delivered in December and
became “Co. 1”, replacing the 1925 Seagrave which the Town later sold. Also,
that year three men had perfect attendance at the twenty-three meetings that
year – Chief L. F. Attwell, Company One driver C. E. Newton and Jim Flemming.
LVFC’s 1937 Seagrave in front of Station 1 on west
Loudoun St. Circa 1968
LVFC Archive Photo
In May 1938, Mr. William Whitmore; Leesburg’s Postmaster, invited the Fire Company to take part in the National Air Mail Week celebration to be held on George Field and to sponsor an air show the following Sunday at the same place. Wallace George was the owner of George Farm which stretched from his farm house near the George Marshall House, east to almost where the by-pass is today. The mowed grass strip that served as the runway, was located in his field along the south side of Edwards Ferry Road, between Queen Street and Heritage Way. In the 1920’s and 30’s, it was known as the “Cow Pasture Airport”. Many barnstormers sold rides and performed there, the highlight being the parachute jump. The Leesburg Fire Company voted to sponsor the 1938 National Air Mail week celebration and made $9.65 from the air plane rides.
Photo - Undated photo of
the “Cow Pasture Airport” and white hanger, looking west. Edwards Ferry Road is
along the right and the hanger is located across from Washington Street. George
Farm Field information found at www.airfields-freeman.com
1952 map showing Godfrey Field (Landing Strip) just south of Edwards Ferry Road. East Market Street (in Black) runs past the Douglas School. That's Fort Evans Rd. on the bottom right. Plaza St. and Cacotin Cir. are not yet constructed.
Turn of the
Century Personal Protective Equipment
On December 9,
1913, the Town Council was debating how to letter the new protective gear for
the Fire Department. It was finally ordered that the initials of the Fire
Department were to be placed on the outside of the slickers and hats and that
these garments were to be kept in the room of the Department. Two months later
at the February 23, Council meeting, not only had the slickers not been
ordered, but the order was being amended. After more discussion, it was decided
that the initials of the fire department were still to go onto the slickers but
not the caps. Used more for protection from the rain and cold, it is assumed
that these “slickers and caps” were some of the first fire protective clothing,
purchased by the Town.
In February
1933, the Company purchased twenty-five rubber suits from the Motortex suits
from the U S Rubber Company. When they arrived, Allen Adrian lettered and
numbered them before they were stored on the ladder truck. Straps and snaps were
added to the truck to carry extra fire helmets for the men that arrived by car.
In 1936, two dozen pairs of rubber coated gloves, a dozen, new regulation
fireman’s rain coats and four helmets were purchased. That year, twenty-five racks
were built in the back of the fire house for the raincoats and boots.
Members of the Leesburg Fire Department with the new 1937 Seagrave pumper in front of the east Loudoun Street station
LVFC Archive Photo
More helmets
were needed just two years later, so the Fire Company called Governor
Westmorland Davis, about his offer to buy the company fire helmets. Governor
Davis had retired from practicing law in 1903 and purchased Morven Park, a
1,200-acre estate with a twenty-five-room mansion. He established the Virginia
State Dairymen's Association in 1907 and In January 1909, became president of
the Virginia State Farmers' Institute. He went on to serve one term as Governor
of Virginia from 1918 to 1922, before retiring to Morven Park. Governor Davis
was a friend of the fire company and carried through with his offer, sending a
check for $108.00 within days. One month later, six coats and six helmets of
various sizes were delivered.
On February 6,
1939, the Company voted to buy twenty-five stocking caps with the initial “L”
on them, to be put in the pockets of the firemen’s coats. All of the old fire
helmets were re-stained and sizes lettered on the outside in white. Sizes of
the firemen’s coats were lettered in white on the sleeves. The Company had in
stock at the fire house - two heavy drivers coats, seventeen heavy duty coats, thirteen
jumper jackets, seventeen helmets, three rain coats, ten pair gloves and thirteen
stocking caps. At the November 20, 1939, Company meeting, the membership voted
that each man to be allowed fifteen cents credit for night fires, to buy coffee
and sandwiches. Also voted to buy a Dripulator to be used to make coffee after
night fires. In 1946 the stock of equipment hadn’t changed much, with seventeen
helmets, seventeen coats, eight rubber suits and eight pair of gloves, in the
fire house.
Origin of
the Rescue Squads
On April 17,
1939; after purchasing oxygen tanks, an inhalator and first aid kits, the Company
voted to establish a First Aid Squad. Emergency Medical Service in Loudoun County began in 1939
when the Leesburg Fire Company formed a First Aid Squad. It was led by Mr.
William Fiske Sr., and staffed by firemen who had taken the Red Cross First Aid
course. In 1940, one month after the Lovettsville Air Disaster, Assistant Chief
Dave McDonald suggested that the Company purchase an ambulance. The following month, the fire company bought a Buick
ambulance equipped with a cot, first aid supplies and an oxygen inhalator. The
ambulance was used for EMS responses as well as to transport extra firemen to
calls. Prior to
this, if you lived in Town and needed an ambulance, you may have been picked up
by the undertaker. Most of the funeral homes in the County offered ambulance
services, some operating into the 1960’s. According to Big Jim Anderson, when
loading a patient on a cot into the ambulance, you had to watch the nose. It
was a tight fit when sliding into the back and sometimes, the patient’s nose
bumped into the roof.
A 1940 Buick Ambulance, similar to the Leesburg unit.
Unlike
today, the ambulance was used primarily to transport patients to the hospital
and only provided basic first aid. The only hospital in the County was Loudoun
Hospital, which originated in a house on Market Street in Leesburg in 1912,
then moved to its present location on Cornwall Street in 1918. Patients in
eastern Loudoun were often picked up by an ambulance out of Herndon, in Fairfax
County, and transported to a hospital in Washington D.C. The long distances
caused a significant delay in care, resulting in a negative impact on the
patients.
In 1952,
the Loudoun County Volunteer Rescue Squad became the first true Rescue Squad in
Loudoun County. One of its charter members was Billy Fiske Jr., the son James
William Fiske who started the Leesburg First Aid Squad thirteen years earlier.
Billy became a member of Leesburg in 1961 went on to become a life member with
the Loudoun Volunteer Rescue Squad as well as the Leesburg Volunteer Fire
Company. With ambulance stations in Leesburg, Hamilton and Purcellville, it
significantly reduced response and transport times and improved patient
outcomes. These ambulance stations would eventually separate into their own,
independent rescue companies. In the late 1960’s, the rescue companies began
equipping apparatus with extrication tools for vehicle accidents. Soon, squad trucks
were purchased with the specific purpose of carrying all of the tools and
equipment needed for any rescue operation, and not for patient transport. These
squads are now dispatched on vehicle accidents, structure fires and all
technical rescues.
Considering Independence
and World War II
On December
16, 1940, a committee headed by Chief J. E. Lawrence, was established to
investigate splitting from the Town of Leesburg and becoming an independent
organization. All purchases and repairs needed go through the Town Council for
approval and depending on the funds available, it often took a while to get
needed equipment. With money coming in
from the carnival and other fundraisers, the Company was financially healthy. The following year, the Company decided to
stay under the Town for liability purposes and on October 6, 1941, was
reorganized as the Leesburg Fire Company.
On June 6,
1941, representatives from the firefighting organizations of Arlington,
Alexandria, Fairfax, Prince William, Loudoun and Fauquier organized Zone No. 1
of the Fire Protection Mobilization Committee of the Virginia State Defense
Council in Alexandria. Plans for coordinating all of the fire companies to work
in case of wide spread forest or other fires were outlined. On December 7,
1941, Pearl Harbor was attacked and the United States entered into World War
II. Three days later, on December 10, Secretary Matt Pullium and Mr. Arthur
Atwell attended a special meeting of the Defense Council in Alexandria. The
following week, on December 19, the Mayor of Leesburg deputized all of the Fire
Company members as special policemen for the duration of the war. On January 5,
1942, statistics for 1941 were reported – there were 52 fires, 31 out of town,
21 in town and the average attendance was 13.3 men out of 25. There had been 25
meetings with an average attendance of 19.8 men, with J.E. Adrian, L.F. Atwell,
J.W. Fisk and L.T. Frye having perfect attendance. Also, at that meeting, the
firemen were asked by Dr. J.T. Jackson, to have their blood typed so that in
case they were needed, they could be called to give blood. The following month,
the firemen voted to not serve at air raid warning stations unless in extreme
emergencies. As more and more members went off to fight, a motion was passed
that any member who was called up, would be able to rejoin the Company when
they returned and that all of the new members elected during this period, would
be temporary.
In March, 1942,
“Old Number 3” blew its motor on the way to a house fire in Waterford and the
Town was once again buying a new motor for a fire truck that had been used on
an out of town call. With war rationing in place, parts were hard to get and
this major purchase must have been difficult for the Town. A special meeting
was held on March 19, to form a committee to raise money to buy a new fire
truck which would be used for out of town calls. At the April 6 meeting, Chief
Lawrence reported that the Mayor wanted the County people to pay for the new
truck and discussed whether the town should continue to pay the expenses of the
fire company if they run out of town calls. The firemen voted to continue to
operate in the County until forced to stop. They started a campaign to get the
citizens of the county to raise money to help buy a new fire engine and an ad was
placed in the paper. This quickly got the attention of the Town Council and a
second meeting was held between the Chief and Mayor. The Council had no
intention of telling the fire company that they could not run calls in the
county but wanted to find a way for the citizens of Leesburg to not have to pay
for county calls while the county residents pay nothing for fire protection. In
the end, the Town replaced the motor of the 1929 Seagrave and the Company did
not buy a new fire truck.
After serving
as assistant chief for the previous three years, Dave McDonald was elected
Chief in 1943 and served for another eighteen years before stepping down in
1961. The Assistant Chief was James Flemming who along with Captain C.S. Reed,
Captain 2 A.B Titus, Lt. R.G. Steadman
and Lt. 2 H. Flippo made up the operational leadership. James B. “Big Jim”
Anderson was the Secretary and L.T. Frye was Treasurer. Company drivers were C.E. Newton, J.B. Anderson, L.F. Atwell, A.B. Atwell,
Howard Leigh and Joe Grehan. James “Big Jim” Anderson is the grandfather of current
member J.B. Anderson.
Members
continued to be sent off to war and in February 1943, Frits Lawrence, Stanley
Reed and A.B. Titus were called up for military service. The Company held an
oyster roast for “the boys going into the service and fireman R. Flippo, of
Flippo’s Grocery Store, donated a keg of beer. The fire company continued to
assist with the war effort by having Fire Prevention posters made each year, as
well as running defense quizzes in the paper, with free movie tickets as a prize.
In September
1944, the Company was again looking to split from the Town. They voted to change
all of their accounts as well as the lettering on the back of the coats, from
Leesburg Fire Company to Leesburg Volunteer Fire Company. That December, the Company
asked the Town Council to turn over control to the members. On March 12, 1945, after
several months of separation negotiations, the Town rejected the Company’s
proposal of independence. After looking at the amount of money that the Town
was spending on the fire company, it made more sense to stay with the Town, so
the dropped the issue.
That July, the Fire Company began looking for a new
fire truck for out of town calls. The Town Council gave approval for them to
house the new out of town truck in the fire house and allowed them to keep the
funds received from the County for fires. The Town also decided to take the No.
2 Ladder Truck from the fire house and use it “for the benefit of its
citizens.” Due to its weight and size, the ladder truck was difficult to handle
and by this time, seldom used by the Fire Company. Big Jim Anderson told of a
time when he drove the ladder truck to a call. He left the station with several
men on the running boards but after arriving, only he and the fireman in the
seat next to him remained. Big Jim supposed that he drove the top-heavy truck a
little too hard around some corners and the men, fearing it was going over,
jumped for safety. He looked over at the fireman in the seat and asked why he
hadn’t jumped too? He replied that he would’ve, but couldn’t get the door open!
After looking at several manufacturers including Oren, the Company chose a Buffalo
Pumper with an eight-man cab in 1946. It was finally delivered a year later in April
1947.
1947 Buffalo Pumper in front of Station 1 on west
Loudoun St., circa 1968
LVFC Archive Photo
Some Not-so-Important Meetings
Since before
the earliest available minutes in 1931, the Company held meetings twice a month
and would continue to do so into the 1990’s. Most of the time there were
important topics to discuss and issues to solve but sometimes not. At a meeting
in 1933, the only item of business was to appoint Matt Pulliam to buy four
sheets of paper for the secretary to use in charting fire alarms. On April 6,
1837, they voted to have the pockets of the pool table fixed, and then
adjourned. On February 5, 1947, the only item of business was to pay the bill
of $1.87, from the Winchester Typewriter Company, for cleaning and repair of
typewriter. At the following meeting, the membership’s only vote was to have
the pool table leveled, buy new balls and get new tips for the pool cues.
No comments:
Post a Comment