Edmunds County Tribune -

From the Ipswich Tribune Thursday, May 30, 1935 edition

Present Ipswich Fire Department formed in 1922; Herrick Chief

Early boom towns usually had many poorly constructed buildings which in most cases proved to be fire traps or at least good material for destructive fires. Ipswich was no exception. The town succeeded probably as well as most pioneer towns in fighting fires with bucket brigades.

The result of such hazardous conditions was that the town had several destructive fires which wiped out a large part of the business section.

As early as 1886 or ’87 when the own had sunk an artesian well in the block south of Lass Brothers’s Garage, because the well had great pressure, hopes were entertained that the city then had fire fighting facilities. A pipe line was laid east of the well and then north reaching into the business section. To this pipe a hose could be attached which afforded what appeared to be a fair stream with considerable force.

All went well for a few years but then the well ceased to function and the city again was forced to go back to the former bucket brigade method.

During those days two very destructive fires occurred. The first wiped out all the buildings from the present drug store south on the west side of the street. The other buildings remaining were the drug store and the building in which the meat market is located now. On the east side it took all the buildings from the First State Bank down to the last building in the block then occupied by “Frenchie” Bochet’s restaurant. Some time later the blocks north of these two formerly destroyed were practically wiped out.

The City did not have relief from this situation until after the city sunk another artesian well which gave a copious water supply. After that men took heart and concluded that it was necessary that a fire company should be organized for the purpose of having fire drills.

It was April 7, 1911 when a group of men met and formed the first organization. The charter members of that organization were: W.E. Herrick, L.E. Smith, Nick Kasel, Roy B. Smith, H.E. Beebe, C. L. Jackson, Geo. McEachran, Albert Owens, Edmund Lass, Will Meyer, Earle Meadows, Don Herrick, Glen W. Jackson, George Warner, Willard Bruce, L. C. Fix, L. T. Bigger, A. L. Jones, Fred Walz, Harry Briggs. Other men joined between the initial organization meeting and the next regular meeting. Thus this was the beginning of a real fire fighting aggregation that has continued down to the present day.

Through the influence of this newly organized fire company the city began to add additional equipment. In those early days there were no motor trucks with which to draw the equipment necessary. The firemen were therefore, dependent on the use of horses. Men were paid for the use of their teams. At the second meeting it was resolved that the fees to be paid for the hauling of the chemical engine or hose cart was to be $5.00 for the night fires and $2.00 for daylight fires.

That the new organization was in earnest about their work is shown when in their May 12, 1912 meeting, they unanimously adopted the following resolution: Be it resolved that we urge upon the city council the necessity of an adequate fire alarm system being installed at the earliest possible moment, the present system being inadequate. And that we further recommend an electric alarm having gongs in at least three places and of such a character that the breaking of a wire turns in the alarm.”

During the first year of the organization much time was spent in having fire drills and having contests in running certain distances and moving equipment certain distances in record time.

The first complete record of a fire being put out by the department occurred on Jan 14, 1912.

The fire was in the Catholic parsonage. It was discovered at 1:00 a.m. by Father Borman. He rang the church bell to give the alarm. Fire apparatus arrived at 1:05 a.m. and by 1:30 a.m. the fire had been extinguished.