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A history of Dunkirk firefighters

Photo courtesy of the Dunkirk Historical Society

For 164 years, Dunkirk has had a proud history of firefighters — both volunteer and paid personnel.

Recently, Citizens Hose Co. No. 2 and Daniel F. Anson Hose Co

. No. 3 officially disbanded. Earlier in 2017, Hose Co. No. 1 did the same.

Since the 1850s, Dunkirk’s fire personnel have fought back the flames that too often spelled disaster.

According to documents made available by the Dunkirk Historical Society, the fires of the 1850s that leveled blocks in Dunkirk led to the formation of many fire companies. The first meeting was held on Feb. 3, 1853, from which Engine Co. No. 2 and Hook and Ladder Co. No. 1 came to be, and 10 days later Engine Co. No. 1 was also established.

That movement, according to one source, ushered in a time of no large conflagrations as seen in the period before 1871 to 1899.

Photo courtesy of the Dunkirk Historical Society

Hose 3 History

Hose Co. No. 3, as we know it today, was first formed in May 1894 when a group of young men came together and named themselves Lake City Hose Co. No. 4. The number was changed to 3 soon after.

Hose Co. No. 3 was “a popular unit referred to by the First Warders as the ‘Fire Fighting Company,’ the motto of the company being ‘Always ready when duty calls.'”

The department began with a horse and “two-wheel jumper” for equipment. An accident involving a passenger train on the morning of Nov. 26, 1904 destroyed the wagon, killed one fireman, Frank Miller, as well as the horse and injured four others.

Following the accident, Dunkirk’s councilmen approved the purchase of a horse, “Big Ted,” and fire wagon for $140 ($3,702.43 in today’s dollars).

Photo courtesy of the Dunkirk Historical Society

That rig was proudly driven by Lawrence Mack and Jack Snyder. It wasn’t until 1912 that Hose Co. No. 3 received its first motorized fire vehicle. By 1923, all of Dunkirk’s companies were completely motorized.

Lake City Hose Co. No. 3 had the first active ladies auxiliary in 1938.

Fastforward to 1979, on Aug. 7 of that year, the city of Dunkirk experienced a violent thunder and lightning storm. On the morning of Aug. 8, Daniel F. Anson was called to a garage fire at 625 Central Ave. He came in contact with an electrically charged metal downspout and was killed instantly.

In his memory, the company was renamed. Ten years later, almost to the day of his death, Hose Co. No. 3 and Local 616 firefighters dedicated the monument in Memorial Park in Anson’s memory.

The many names of Hose Co. No. 2

Photo courtesy of the Dunkirk Historical Society

Engine Co. No. 2 was one of the first formed during that meeting in February 1853. It kept the apparatus in a building on Front Street (now known as Lake Shore Drive) and was renamed Loder Engine Co. No. 2 after New York and Erie Railroad President Benjamin Loder gifted Dunkirk its first pumper. That equipment, along with an original “Loder 2” flag are on display in the Dunkirk Historical Museum, 513 Washington Ave.

In 1885, however, Loder Co. disbanded and Citizens Hose Co. No. 2 was organized.

In 1911, Hose Co. No. 2 was located at 311 Eagle St., the address of the current fire headquarters.

Dunkirk’s history of paid firefighters

According to a 1972 article in the OBSERVER by Louis VanWey, the Common Council appointed Street Commissioner Underwood as the fire warden in the spring of 1899 with a salary of $15 per month ($422.56 today). The five fire companies in existence at the time — Pioneer Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1, Dunkirk Hose Co. No. 1, Citizens Hose Co. No. 2, C.C. Parker Independent Hose Co. No. 3 and Lake City Hose Co. No. 3 — did not agree with the decision, but also could not agree on a substitute, eventually resulting the temporary disbanding of three of the fire companies out of protest and operated with two chiefs. In part because of that disbanding Pioneer Hook & Ladder Hose Co. No. 1 is considered the oldest in the city.

Photo courtesy of the Dunkirk Historical Society

The two sides eventually came together under one chief. Council also hired two drivers in 1899, Michael Hyland and John Kraiger for Hose Co. No. 2 and Hose Co. No. 1, respectively.

Dunkirk Local 616’s website says two paid firefighters were added to Hose Co. No. 3 and Hose Co. No. 4 in 1903 and 1904, respectively.

At the time of full automation in 1923, the city had 17 paid firefighters. Fourteen firefighters were included in the charter when Local 616 affiliated with the IAFF in 1939. The first rescue vehicle was put into service in the 1950s.

In 1972 there were still five fire companies — Pioneer Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1, Dunkirk Hose Co. No. 1, Citizens Hose Co. No. 2, Lake City Hose Co. No. 3 and Murray Hose Co. No. 4 (established 1906) — with approximately 500 volunteers. In another article nine years later, the estimate for volunteers in the five companies was the same.

Over time the equipment has modernized and the number of paid fire personnel has increased to 24. Conversely, the number of volunteers has dropped and three of the five companies have disbanded due to lack of participation.

Photo courtesy of the Dunkirk Historical Society

Photo courtesy of the Dunkirk Historical Society Hose Co. No. 2, like all the volunteer companies, had a mix of horse-drawn and motorized equipment until 1923.

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