Poulsbo Fire Department History - Poulsbo, Washington, USA

Brief Written History of Poulsbo Fire Department

Part 1 - The Beginning
Poulsbo is a small community located on the shores of Liberty Bay, formerly known as Dog Fish Bay. The settlement grew from a few settlers living close to the shores of the bay in the 1880s into the small, modern city it is today. Over the years, the need for fire protection was one of the foremost concerns of these frontier settlers. Poulsbo was served by one or more steamship companies after the turn of the century and all supplies had to come via this route, primarily from Seattle. Telephone service as we know it today did not exist then and the only method for communicating with the "outside world" was by U.S. Mail. With this level of isolation, the question of protection for the residents from disasters, especially fire, became one that had to be solved locally. As far as fire protection was concerned, there wasn't any outside help available within the time required to extinguish a blaze soon enough to save either the contents of a structure or the structure itself, be it a house, barn, store, or wharf. Hence, the issue of fire protection fell entirely on the small community.

From the earliest times, each home kept a barrel or tub of water outside, ready for use, i.e. washing dishes or clothes, water for the few animals kept around a small farm or for use in case a fire should break out. In the more densely developed areas such as where the cluster of stores were located on Front Street, the fire underwriters either required or strongly recommended there be an available supply of water tanks and buckets. These buckets were very special, made of galvanized iron and of a size to hold about three gallons of water. One very special feature was the bottom of the bucket was rounded so that if the bucket were set down, it would tip or fall over. Hence, these buckets could not be used for purposes other than firefighting. Many buildings had a collection of wood barrels located on the roof and each barrel had a bucket hanging on the outside.

As the small community grew, the need for fire protection from the terrible destruction of a conflagration induced the merchants to form an association for the benefit of each other. There wasn't a formal fire department established in Poulsbo until 1936, however, prior to that date an effective team was available in case of emergency.

History Index