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Following the
Great Fire of July 11, 1893, that destroyed over 60 buildings and a big
portion of the public square. Our city fathers passed an ordinance on
December 15, 1983 that would organize Princeton’s first Fire Department.
The first Princeton Fire Department would consist of eighteen men that
were divided up into three hose companies. Each hose company had five
men and a captain, which was a sufficient number of men to work the hose
after the hose had reached the fire. However in the early days of the
fire department most roads were still dirt and in wet weather or winter
weather just getting the equipment to the fire was quite a chore. The
hose house captain had the authority under state law to compel any and
every citizen to lend a hand getting the equipment to the fire, if his
men became exhausted before reaching the fire.
It was understood that with a volunteer fire department that only about
fifty percent could be depended on to be on hand when the hose real
started out to a fire. The City Council would choose men that lived near
the hose houses so a sufficient number of men could respond quickly to
the house to start the hose reel towards the fire.
When a fire was reported the volunteers would drop their work and head
for their firehouse to pull the hose cart to the fire.
There were three fire units, each having a hose cart; the carts were
located at Prince & Christian street, Main & Spruce Street, and Pine &
Seminary Street.
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The First
Fire Chief and His Men |
On December 15, 1893 William Mossman was elected the first Fire Chief of
Princeton by the City Council and at the following meeting eighteen
volunteers would be chosen and would begin training. They were First
Assistant Fire Chief Isaac Eby, Second Assistant Fire Chief R. R.
Berlin, Captain of hose house one Isaac Eby, Captain of hose house two
was Gus Nading, and Captain of hose house three was Crawford Woods.
Although the fire department was considered volunteer, the firemen were
compensated for responding to fires. A fireman was paid fifty cents for
each fire he responded to and twenty-five cents for every hour at the
fire.
The Fire Department would operate with three hose carts in three
locations until the turn of the century when the City Council decided it
was time to update the fire department and build a central fire
headquarters on the 100 block of North Prince Street. A two-story brick
structure was built with room on the first floor for a fire wagon and
two horses and the second floor would house the firemen’s quarters. This
firehouse would be used for nearly 100 years.
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