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History of the Lockport Fire Department
In the early days of what is now Lockport, New York;
the first dwellings were log cabins. Huge fireplaces with mud encrusted
stick chimneys and roaring fires in the winter would frequently ignite
the logs. Structure fires were common. Although fire related casualties
and property losses were not recorded back then, those early
inhabitants recognized the need for providing some type of protection
from the fire problem. The year 1824 saw the formation of the first
firefighting organization in Niagara County. Located in the village of Lockport,
it was named Protection Fire Company No.1. The original handwritten
bylaws of the company are in possession of the Niagara County
Historical Society. In the event of a fire, each member would respond
to an alarm, generally sounded on the nearest church bell by the first
person to notice the fire. For his effort, this person would receive a
"reward" in the amount of $2.50. Churches designated for use as alarm
sites were the Baptist, Grace Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and
the Clinton Street Methodist. Because it had a bell tower, the Union School was also used for this purpose.
From the Official Record of a special meeting of the Board of Fire Commissioners held at City Building dated May 18, 1914, 8:00pm.
Present: Daniel T. McCarthy, President, Commissioners I.A. Bronson, William Hall, Frank D. Weaver;
The
President stated the purpose of the meeting was to disband the
volunteer companies and reorganize the Department, and for such other
matters as may be brought before the Commission.
By Mr. Bronson:
Whereas,
the adequate protection of life and property demand that the Fire
Department should be organized on basis of greatest efficiency, and
while the Board of Fire Commissioners appreciates the excellent service
which has been rendered by the volunteer firemen, yet the Board
realized that the present system is antiquated and does not meet the
modern requirements of highest efficiency in fire protection, and the
fault being inherent in the system necessitates the reorganization of
the Fire Department in order to enable it
to render better and more efficient service, and therefore for the good
of the community at large, be it Resolved that in order to reorganize
the Fire Department the following volunteer companies be and the same
are hereby disbanded, viz: Protection Hook and Ladder Company, No. 1,
Hydrant Hose Company, No. 1, Washington
Hose Company, No. 2, Active Hose Company and No.5, DeWitt Clinton Hose
Company, No.6, and the Clerk of the Board is hereby directed to notify
each of said Companies to turn over all city property including keys,
badges, etc. to the City Clerk or Chief Engineer on or before June 1st,
1914, and be it further resolved, that if no legal obstacles prevent,
that this Board recommend that certificates of honorable discharge be
issued by the Mayor and City Clerk to all the present members of the
said Companies, and further be it, Resolved, That the fire department
shall, after the disbandment of the volunteer companies as above, be
organized as follows: It shall consist of a Chief Engineer, Supt. Of
Fire Alarms and thirteen paid men and eighteen minute or call men, who
shall be stationed as follows: At station No.1, now known as
P.H.&L, house three paid men and six minute men; at station No.2,
now known as Hydrant Hose house two paid
men and three minute men, station No. 3, now known as Washington Hose,
house three paid men and three minute men, station No. 4, now know as
Active Hose house two paid men and three minute men, station No. 5 ,
now known as DeWitt Clinton house three paid men and three minute men.
That
said paid men shall consist of such members of the paid Department as
are now employed in the service with such additions as may be necessary
from time to time to be made under rules and regulations of the Board
of Fire Commissioners.
That
the minute or call men shall consist of such men as shall be selected
by this board, and shall receive a compensation of seventy-five dollars
per year and selected as far as possible from the membership of the
present volunteer department; they shall be assigned to the several
stations by the Board of Fire Commissioners and shall be subject at all
times to the rules and regulations adopted by the Fire Commission for
their government and control.
Seconded by Mr. Weaver and adopted. Ayes-4.
Inventor Birdsill Holly
Lockport was the home of Inventor Birdsill Holly who invented the fire hydrant. Birdsill Holly was born November 8, 1820 in Auburn, New York and grew up around Seneca Falls.
In his lifetime he made great contributions to the fields of mechanical
and hydraulic engineering. He holds over 150 American patents as well
as several foreign patents. Some of his inventions you use everyday!
The system of pressurized municipal water supply was invented by Holly.
Every time you open tap on you sink you are using a Holly invention!
Despite his genius and his great accomplishments he never attained the
fame and/or fortune of his contemporaries which includes Thomas Edison
who was a good friend of Holly's and visited Lockport
several times. Before the Holly Mfg. Co. began operations the Hydraulic
Race Co. was formed. This company purchased rights to draw water from
the canal. They then blasted a 750' long tunnel out of the hard
Lockport Dolomite. This tunnel, or hydraulic raceway, drew water from
the canal above the locks. The water traveled downhill through the
tunnel. When the water arrived at the Holly factory it would spin a
water wheel turbine, which would provide close to 2,000 horsepower of
mechanical energy to Holly's factory. Holly's turbine would rotate a
large central shaft which would be connected by pulleys and leather
belts to each individual piece of machinery. This system was very
advanced for it's time, engineers from all over Europe came to Lockport
to study Holly's tunnel system. It was so successful that the Hydraulic
Race Co. later doubled the length of the tunnel to supply water power
to the Richmond Mfg. Co. and the Lockport Pulp Co. In its prime Holly
Mfg. employed over 500 people. The most influential thing to be
produced by Holly Mfg. was the Holly system of fire protection. It was
the Holly fire protection system that made Birdsill world famous. This
system was mainly comprised of two of his inventions, an elliptical
rotary water pump, and the fire hydrant. The pumps, powered by steam
engines, pressurized water and distributed it through underground pipes
throughout the city. The Holly fire hydrants were connected to these
pipes, making plenty of water available to fight fires anywhere at
anytime. The same basic system is used today in every city in the United States and most of the developed world. Lockport, NY
was the first city to employ this fire protection system. The Holly
System was soon adopted by thousands of cities throughout the United States and Europe. There were some cities however which did not purchase this system. One of those cities was Chicago. Not long after they rejected the offer to buy this system the great Chicago
fire took place. It is surmised that this fire would have been
relatively minor had they employed the Holly System. They purchased his
system almost immediately after the fire.
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