This file portion of www.watertownhistory.org website
Also part of
History of Watertown Fire Dept
Phoenix Fire Company
Organized 1876
Phoenix Fire Co, No. 2,
Chickens Come Home to Roost
Written and contributed by Ben Feld
Based on news stories of 09 28 and 11 02 of 1887
1876,
Phoenix Fire Co Formed
Ever since the Phoenix Fire Company was organized in
1876 and they moved into the new firehouse on the west side, we knew those dumb
Irishmen thought they were a better fire company than we, the Pioneer Company,
the original Watertown fire company was.
The Phoenix guys were always bragging about how their
pumper, a Silsby machine using a rotary pump, could get up steam and throw
water before our piston-pump Ahrens.
They always made of point of letting the people know that the first one
at the scene of a fire was the Phoenix Company (many times they were not, but
they said nothing about that), and we, the Pioneer Company, being composed of
fine, modest men, never bragged about our expertise.
1887,
Portage Fire Co
But even with the intense rivalry between us, we never
allowed that to interfere with our work and when the State Firemen’s Tournament
took place in Watertown, we cooperated wonderfully, functioning, usually, as
one team. In fact, all the fire
companies participating got along beautifully; all except those backwoods rubes
from Portage.
They were especially obnoxious during that tournament
in 1887. Their newspaper, the Portage Daily Register was made
available to us and we laughed among ourselves when we read the excuses the
Portage paper offered for their “fire laddies” not doing better in the
contests, especially one of the first contests in which Portage came in
fourth. Although other contestants
protested vigorously about the officiating, protested almost to the point of
fisticuffs, the “Silsby boys” (as the Portage paper referred to their fire
company), the Portage laddies, according to the Daily Register, “displayed gentlemanly behavior, as was their
nature.” There was, the newspaper
reported, not a more polite, congenial, cooperative group than those Portage
boys.
When a rung on their ladder broke during a hook and
ladder contest, and they came in fourth, being bested by Fort Atkinson, they were
reported to have been the very essence of good sportsmanship. They “did not a word of kicking”. A nicer group could not be found. But, the Daily
Register said, it should be noted that the Portage boys would have done
better in all contests had they worn
“gauze shirts, canvas shoes and other light-weight clothing as the competition did.” They were clearly the most deserving of any
group in the tournament. Had trophies
been awarded for niceness, gentlemanliness, civility and/or similar traits, clearly,
the boys from Portage would have won them all.
It literally made us sick to read about them.
1887, Rough
& Ready Mill Fire
Everything went along smoothly until about noon the
first day when we found ourselves in an embarrassing situation. At 11:30, in the midst of the contests and
festivities, the fire alarm was sounded indicating that the Rough & Ready
Mill at the upper dam about two miles from the tournament grounds, was on fire
and needed help. Our Pioneer Company
along with the Phoenix Company immediately sprang to the rescue and rushed the
Silsby and Ahrens pumpers to the blazing mill, and proceeded to pump water on
the blazing wood -- I should say we tried to pump water. Almost immediately the leather hose on one
pumper burst and then the hose on the other pumper burst leaving the Watertown
boys standing there helplessly watching the fire consume the mill, and hearing
the caustic comments of our fellow-firemen.
The Beaver Dam hook and ladder company, which had responded to the alarm
with their equipment, set up their pumper and rendered a great service in
saving adjoining property. It was all
highly embarrassing for us. Those
leather hoses were known for their propensity to burst at critical times; why
couldn’t they have waited for just one more fire?
And did the boys from Portage gather around the
Watertown boys, slap them knowingly on their backs while uttering words of help
or at least condolences? Not on your
life! Instead, those peace-loving,
uncomplaining Portage boys, not wanting to cause any trouble, not kicking about
anything, loudly offered the observation that, on their arrival at the site of
the fire, only the third floor was ablaze and it was because of ill-directed
work and poorly maintained equipment that the mill was a total loss. They let it be known that with their fire
chief and their single steamer they could have “discounted the two Watertown
squirt-guns and the whole department”.
Rather harsh words, to be
sure, but well-meant because they were,
as the Portage paper had pointed out, peace-loving, congenial men, not prone to
kicking or taking part in any “rumpus”.
When the day was over and we had a chance to reflect
on the day’s happenings, we found it difficult to forget the cutting remarks
and behavior of the Portage crews. We
tried to put the memories behind us and concentrate on improving our
performance based on what we had learned in the course of the various contests,
but it rankled to recall that we had essentially been called incompetent, and
our pumpers had been called squirt guns, a epithet especially disconcerting
since one of their pumpers was a Silsby, almost identical to ours. It was very disconcerting to recall that they
bragged that their single Silsby pumper could have outperformed our two
machines had the hoses not burst.
So it was with a great feeling of satisfaction that
the firemen as well as a great many citizens of Watertown read in the Watertown Republican a lengthy report of
a fire which had destroyed the only flouring mill in Portage. Every Watertown fireman as well as many, many
residents of our city read or had read to them, the paragraph from the Portage Daily Register which said:
Upon arriving on the scene of the fire, the
Silsby took water at the platform on the
river bank nearby, and was red hot -- prepared to pump the Wisconsin River dry,
if need be -- but there was a delay of half an hour before the hose was gotten
into position so that the stream of water could be thrown. For some reason the Silsby boys did not turn
out with their usual alacrity, and as there were very few other men present
because of the stinging cold, the hose was not handled with customary rapidity
and effect. This company has received
severe censure from the local newspaper for not turning out more men.
Although we couldn’t see them, in our mind’s eye we
firemen knew the entire population of Watertown was nodding their collective
head in agreement with the editor of the Watertown
Republican who had entitled the above article: Chickens Come Home To Roost
___________________________________________
Contribution from Garden Guy:
The Phoenix Fire Company was
before my time, but I remember the station on Water Street. Used to go there
and look through the windows. It was
like a museum. The horse harnesses were
suspended on the ceiling and dropped on the horses when they hooked up on the
engines. They kept the horses down below
the station. I remember one of the
drivers, Bill Spear. Later he had a team
of horses for the sprinkling wagon to wash the streets. We used to go to the corner of Jones and Dewey
Avenue where he filled the tank from the fire hydrant. It always overflowed. There was a gas engine on the back of the
water wagon for pressure to the sprinklers. Sure brings back memories.
1908 D. & H.
Kusel secured contract for placing the new roof on the Phoenix engine
house. July 10 WG
Charles Cech,
proprietor of tannery, dealer in leather, shoe-findings, hides, pelts, etc., was
a member of Pioneer Fire Company,
No. 1.
Watertown
Fire Department file
