Poulsbo Fire Department History - Poulsbo, Washington, USA

A Brief Written History of Poulsbo Fire Department

Part 2 - The Early 1900s
During the early days of this century, that is after 1900, a water supply system was constructed by Mr. Jorgen Eliason consisting of a collection basin on the hill and a 6-inch wood stave pipe to First Street (now Front Street) serving all of the stores and a few residences. By 1918, the date of the first available report on the Poulsbo fire protection by the Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau, there were 6-inch mains throughout the main business district, and either 4-inch or 6-inch mains in the more densely populated residential areas. The mains were supplied from a spring about 3/4 of a mile away. A 74,000 gallon storage tank located on top of the hill near the old Ebenezer Rest Home provided 68 pounds per square inch static pressure under normal conditions although this was reduced to only 37 pounds under a heavy flow of 427 gallons per minute. This system allowed most businesses and residences in the areas covered by City water mains to have garden hoses for lawn watering and fire protection if needed.

Still, there wasn't a formal department organization. An alarm system had not yet been installed. The men of town responded to the call of "FIRE" and ran either to the fire or to the hose cart shed. Mel Borge was in charge of what fire equipment they had and this was stored in a wood shed on the water side of First Street, across from his store and near the present
site of "The Brothers Store". The meager tools consisted of a hand drawn two wheel cart with 850 feet of 2-1/2" single jacket rubber lined cotton hose (of which up to 500 feet was normally kept on the cart).

Also on the cart were a few hand tools consisting of fire axes, a shovel, and a 35 gallon tank of water fitted so that if up-ended it would dump hydrochloric acid into the water which already had bicarbonate of soda dissolved in it. The chemical action produced carbon dioxide gas, creating pressure so that a good stream of water would jet from the attached hose. If the fire were on the hillside above First Street, the hose cart with water tank was hitched behind a car and towed up the hill, being too heavy for the men to pull over the rough gravel roads and up the steep grades. The cart's wooden wheels were at least four feet high and had two inch wide steel tires. It was also noted in this first underwriter's report that the storage shed was kept locked and when needed Mel Borge had to be found, as he had the only key. Furthermore, the tank was not protected from freezing during cold winter weather.

In 1914, a disastrous fire broke out on the east or away-from-the-water-side of First Street. The bucket brigade was unable to quell the blaze and the Seattle fire boat was summoned for assistance, there now being a telephone line to Seattle. All available resources were brought into play. The steamer HYAK had arrived from Seattle on the scheduled daily evening run, arriving at Poulsbo by approximately 6:45 p.m. Fortunately, it was high tide and Captain Hostmark brought the vessel in as close to shore as the tide would allow, tying up at Eliason's dock. The HYAK's pumps were started and hose was strung across the street to the blaze. The conflagration was brought under control before the Seattle fire boat arrived. The damage: every building on the east side of the street was destroyed for a distance of about one block, including the Olympic Hotel and Boyd's Drug Store. As the fire spread south, it consumed every building in it's path, but was finally stopped before Mr. E. J. Eliason's building, presently the Warren G. Harding Lodge, as there was an empty lot adjacent to this structure. ''The fire did not cross the empty space. On the north end, the fire was stopped near the present site of Sluy's Bakery. Between was total destruction; however the courageous men had saved the remainder of the town.

As time went on, more equipment was acquired, but the underwriter's reports indicate there was usually a considerable deficiency in quality of fire hose. This was before the days of nylon and other synthetic fabrics or butyl, the substitute for rubber. Consequently, the cotton fabric would rot in a short time and the rubber lining of the hose had a very limited life. Additionally, the firefighters did not even have a hose tower to hang and dry the hose after it was used at a fire or during a drill. Because there was not a formal fire department, there was likewise not a readily available source of funds, so- the men of the volunteer fire department started an annual Firemen's Ball and the funds collected there, plus donations by the local merchants, were the only monies available to purchase needed equipment.

Another fire of great importance to Poulsbo occurred on a sunny day during the summer of 1934 at the Pacific Coast Codfish Company plan the present location of the Liberty Bay Marina. A fire had been started in the heating stove in the main packing room to burn up trash, old papers and a few cartons. A chimney fire soon developed and a second floor fire started from paper cartons piled too close to the chimney. The flames erupted from an opening for another stove in the chimney on the second floor. It was daytime and the firefighters responded, formed a bucket brigade, and passed the round bottom fire buckets filled with water from the elevated storage tank and Liberty Bay, past one man after another until at the end of the line next to the fire on the roof Bjarne Rindal threw the water from each bucket onto the blaze. The fire was extinguished and the fish packing plant was saved. There was considerable damage to cardboard cartons and some of the interior of the building, but the plant was saved and, with it, the winter jobs for 30 to 40 persons. The volunteers had come through again. It must be remembered that the City limits of Poulsbo did not extend this far and there were no fire mains, only a small private water supply for the fish plant.

At about this time, another fire occurred in the building on the corner of Hostmark and Fjord, the building where Mr. Mike Alvarado now has his home and office. The building was no different in outside appearance then when it had been a funeral parlor at times and it also included two apartments. It had belonged to Leif Ness and was sold to Elmer Borgan, a storekeeper. He was in the process of remodeling it when fire broke out. Again, the bucket brigade did the task and, as always, Bjarne Rindal was on the roof throwing each bucket of water.

Poulsbo had its share of fires. There was no routine inspection of the town by the men, only the primary inspection being conducted by the underwriters in the high risk areas and the outlying fish plant. The present site of the Martha and Mary Nursing Home was formerly a children's home run by the Lutheran Churches. A fire of considerable intensity broke out there about 1926 or 1927 and destroyed the main building. The enthusiastic volunteers were unable to save the structure. It must be recognized that at this time Poulsbo did not have a fire engine, therefore hoses fed from the town water mains and the well-?known bucket o brigade were the only available means of extinguishment. With only 68 psi available on First Street, this building being at a higher elevation had considerably less pressure. Further, when the large 2-1/2" hoses were opened up, the pressure fell even lower and often water pressure was not adequate to squirt a hose stream over the roof.

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