Poulsbo Fire Department History - Poulsbo, Washington, USA

A Brief Written History of Poulsbo Fire Department

Part 3 - 1930 to 1940
During the early 1930s, a major improvement was the installation of a fire alarm siren or horn on First Street (now Front Street). It was located at various places including on the roof of Iverson's Butcher Shop (presently the gift card store adjacent to Poulsbo Drug Store), on top of a utility pole near the present location of the Senior Citizen's Lounge, and finally on top of City Hall. With this alarm, a person could call the telephone operator 24 hours a day to report a fire. The operator slept in the office and would awake should a call come in at night. There was an extra charge for these late night calls, however. She would turn the alarm on and the men would come running from their homes at night or during the day from every store in town.
Poulsbo Fire Department is Formally Organized

The year 1936 saw the beginning of a new formally organized Poulsbo Fire Department. Mr. Selmer H. Myreboe was the mayor and he appointed Mr. Rudie M. Iverson as the first Fire Chief. The new Department was now official and had a status of its own, a great advance from the former, strictly voluntary group of men not backed by a city government.

One of the first actions was the purchase of a pumper truck, an extremely needed item if the Department were to be able to respond to fires beyond the limits of the City or higher on the hillside than the low water pressure could supply a fire hose. The City of Portland had a used 1918 American La France fire truck that was no longer adequate for their needs. This was purchased by Poulsbo and converted or modernized to fit the needs of the rural community. This truck was right hand drive with an open seat for driver and one other person. It had a large six cylinder engine consisting of three, two cylinder blocks, dual ignition, a large bell behind the driver's seat, electric starter, 24 foot extension ladder, 12 foot roof ladder, 115 gallon water tank, 800 feet of 2-1/2" hose, 400 feet of 1-1/2" hose, 200 feet of 3/4" booster hose, and 150 feet of 3/4" garden hose, as shown by the 1937 Underwriter's report. The engine had been overhauled and the brakes placed in first class condition. Additionally, the original solid rubber tires had been removed and a new set of wheels installed with pneumatic tires of considerably larger diameter than the former ones, necessitating modifications to the fenders. However, the rear wheels were still of the single tire type, the idea of dual rear wheels had not progressed to remodeled fire trucks. This engine had chain drive as did all trucks of that vintage, with brakes on the rear wheels only. The overhaul allowed the truck, formerly a 750 gallon per minute pumper, to qualify at 500 gallons per minute with 100 pounds pressure. With this new truck, Poulsbo for the first time was able to respond to rural fires.

A new fire station was constructed to house this equipment near where the present Senior Citizen's Lounge is located. The truck had cost about $300 in Portland originally, but with the overhaul and conversions (to pneumatic tires), the cost had risen to about $700. The engine was quite powerful and enabled the truck to pull most of the hills without shifting. Even the steep grade up Finn Hill could be made in high gear. The men of the Department were very proud of this newly acquired truck and, with the addition of the rural areas outside the City limits, the number of volunteers increased. To be a fireman in Poulsbo was a great honor.
The new truck also had special problems. At one time a cam shaft in the engine broke. The American LaFrance Company did not have a replacement and without this part, the engine would not run. Chief Corning of the City of Seattle Fire Department came to the rescue and donated a cam shaft from their stock of parts removed from old trucks. Another problem was the chain drive. This was the weak link for a rural fire truck. The chain that drove each rear wheel was totally exposed. This was no great problem in a city such as Portland where all the streets were paved and accordingly reasonably clean. Not so for Poulsbo Most of the roads outside of town were of Macadam construction, that is, graded and covered with gravel. There was terrific dust and the lubrication oil on the exposed chain collected this abrasive material thus causing excessive wear on the chain. More than once during a run to a rural fire, the chain on one side or the other would break. The Poulsbo crew was up to this and carried a chain patching kit on the truck even including entire spare chains.

Leif Ness was the regular driver of the truck, as he operated the delivery truck for the Rindal and Ness Feed Store and knew where everyone in the north end of the County lived. He has recounted how on one run to Sandy Hook, while racing along through Lemolo, he had to apply the brakes on a down grade. The brakes locked and he lost steering, but being on the curve at Brauer Road, he continued straight ahead and finally stopped. A little water was used from the truck tank, the brakes cooled off and they continued on. While on Sandy Hook Road and approaching the fire, the narrow high pressure tires bogged down. The men were up to this also and pulled the truck the last hundred yards to the fire and quickly extinguished it. The home was saved.

The year of 1936 also saw the beginning of other great improvements within the City of Poulsbo. A new system of water mains was undertaken, to be completed over several years. The former wood stave pipe was replaced and new iron pipe installed covering the enlarged city. This was also the beginning of more formal training of the firemen. Members attended fire conventions and schools. Certificates were obtained for proficiency by many of the men. By the 1937 inspection of the Washington Surveying and Rating Bureau, the rating classification had been upgraded from Class 8 to Class 7. This new classification brought lowered insurance rates within the City.

The American LaFrance pumper truck served the City of Poulsbo Fire Department well. Roads were continuously being improved and, while mainly gravel surface without paving, the Poulsbo crew was still able to extend their area of coverage. One year there was a forest fire on the outskirts of Port Gamble heading toward the town and mill. The Poulsbo crew was summoned, responded, and extinguished the fire before it destroyed the town. Only two buildings were scorched. The engine had been pumping water for four hours steady!

Each fire engine had to pass a pumping test every year as proof of its capability. This was generally conducted by driving the truck to a location near where the Little Valley Nursery is now located. One end of the hard suction hose was connected to the pump and the other end submerged in the pool of the creek where clear, sand-free water could be freely drawn. The flow rate or pump discharge quantity was metered through a calibrated orifice, and the engine speed adjusted so an output in excess of the required amount and slightly above the test pressure was continuously delivered for a minimum time of four hours. During this time there could be no stopping for anything or the test would not be approved. One year during the test, one of the engine valves stuck and before the engine had time to stall or lose pressure, Leif Ness removed the valve cover and got the stuck valve working.

The engine of this behemoth required considerable time and attention in the repair shop. Ole Berg's auto repair garage was the place and, should the fire truck be in his garage when the alarm sounded, he would mount to the driver's seat, start the roaring engine and drive down First Street. The firemen would hear the deafening exhaust noise echoing from the building and as the truck passed, each would make a flying jump and grab hold of something, get his feet on the running board, and go off to the fire. If the run was out of town, they might stop in front of the station to allow a change of drivers and the men to get a better location on the truck.

These were happy years for the men in the Fire Department. Every year they held the spring Firemen's Ball, the largest dance event of the year. Also, in early December on a Saturday morning, the men would take one or two large trucks out into the woods and fill them with evergreen boughs. Sunday was the big day! Right after breakfast everyone would gather in a vacant lot along First Street. Naturally every wife and all the children came for the day of fun. Someone would have procured heavy wire and lengths of these were set up on saw horses and the evergreens were trimmed and secured to the wire to make garlands of green that were then carried down the street and stretched from building top to building top on the opposite side of the street. Colored lights were attached and the electric power wires going to various buildings were tapped ahead of the meter, lighting all of the lamps. The town was dressed for the holiday season, there being 12 to 15 of these evergreen garlands stretching across the street. The project took all day, after which all returned home to clean up and change clothes and at the appointed hour enjoy a- sumptuous dinner in a local restaurant. The festivities and fun were part of what made being a fireman a great joy. This dressing of the town for the holiday season continued until sometime in the 1960s when the merchants hired a commercial firm to do the work, much to the disappointment of the firemen.

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