BLAST FROM THE PAST 99 years of fire trucks, fires and volunteers

BY JOËLLE SÉVIGNY

With a new firehall in the planning for Westview, I thought this would be the perfect time to look back at some of our early firehall history here in Powell River.

Firefighting and fire prevention were at first, all-volunteer efforts. After the Company store went up in flames in 1911, a brigade named “The Muscle and Brawn Brigade” was formed – because back in the day, the hose reels were pulled by firemen’s pure will and strength, although they did use a horse eventually.

J. T Gately, formed this first official brigade which was later led by George Clapp. Their offices were located at the planer mill and their equipment consisted of hose reels placed strategically around the Townsite. Townsite homeowners used to take advantage of this nifty arrangement by using the hoses to water their gardens!

volunteer firefighters Alex McLaren, Bob Bridge, Neil Clark, John Fishleigh and Stan Davies in their sharp uniforms. Photos courtesy of the Townsite Heritage Society.

In 1913, fire chief George Clapp happily moved his family into the brand-new, first ever firehall at 261 Maple (now Syca-

“We were all dolled up in our Sunday best…. when we came out of that little disturbance, we looked like coal miners!”

more). And under fire chief Dave Gardiner’s command, in 1921, Powell River received its first ever fire truck which replaced the well-used hose-reel cart.

George Clapp remembers the worst fire, in a 1930 Digester, where over 100 men saved the Townsite from burning: “the fire that broke out on July 1, 1914… someone had a brain wave and started sending up fire balloons. These landed in the bush back of the bowling green and the trouble started.

“When the alarm sounded, we were all dolled up in our Sunday best….when we came out of that little disturbance, we looked like coal miners, and O! our Sunday suits!”

the trucks at Firehall #1, where St. David’s & St. Paul’s Anglican church now stands. The hall was built in 1913, but this photo was taken in 1935

This was before the time of calling 9-1-1 and when a fire broke out, a whistle would go off at the mill since the only phones were in the manager’s homes.

Eventually, each community in the area got their own Fire Department started, which reduced travel time to a minimum; Westview and Cranberry both organized in 1938, and Wildwood in 1943.

So, whenever you walk by St. David’s and St. Paul’s Anglican Church in the Townsite today, you can imagine the first Firehall just above it!

Powell River’s first “fire truck” was pulled by a running human through the streets of Townsite.

Blast from the Past is a monthly historical column written by the Townsite Heritage Society’s coordinator Joëlle Sévigny. The THS tells the history of Townsite from 1907 onward.