Cambridge Fire Department Celebrate 150 Years
Fighting fires back in the early 1800s in Cambridge was very different than today. The most common method was the bucket brigade where leather buckets were passed by hand from a well or stream to the fire and back again. Those methods did not prove adequate before long.
A fire on Water Street in June of 1873 was the catalyst for organizing a volunteer fire department in Cambridge. At that time on what is now Turner Avenue, workers at Simmons Brothers foundry were coating castings when hot pitch tar overflowed from a kettle onto the fire below. Soon the entire building was on fire and a wind spread the fire throughout the area burning twenty-two buildings before it was extinguished.
Local citizens banded together to fight the inferno but were ill equipped to fight such a fire. Barnesville and Zanesville sent hand pumpers, a steam engine pumper, hose carts, ladder wagons, and over 150 men via train to assist in putting out the fire, which took three days. As a result of this, buildings were better constructed in the future and Cambridge Fire Department was organized as a volunteer department.
Cisterns were built around town so an ample water supply would be available for their new Relief Steam-engine Pumper that cost $6500 and had to be pulled by hand. Four and a half minutes after water from the cistern was in the boiler, water would be pulsed from the hose. That was much better than the bucket brigade!
In 1873, the fire engine was housed at the Old Town Hall on Steubenville Avenue. Community men served as volunteers for over 60 years. T.W. Scott and S.M. Burgess were some of those fire department founders. In 1874, the city gave the fire department $500 for uniforms, which consisted of a cap and a badge.
In 1898, the fire department moved to the old Simmons Brothers Factory on Turner Avenue. When you imagine how tiring it would have been to pull the engine by hand to a fire, it was important that early automobiles and the streetcar were used to haul volunteers and equipment back to the station.
Since the men all had full-time jobs, they often had to go to work covered with smoke and dirt from the fires. In 1902, Branthoover & Johnson installed plumbing at the firehouse as well as a bathtub,
In 1910, the city decided that these men should get a little pay but only when they were fighting a fire. Rates at that time gave the Chief $3 a fire, and the volunteers received $2 a fire if water was needed or $1 a fire if no water was needed.
Progress was being made as in 1915, fire hydrants were installed around the city. A new motorized, chain driven fire truck was then purchased. That original Relief Steam-engine Pumper and Hose Cart have now been returned from a Cleveland Museum and are kept at the Cambridge Fire Department.
In 1932, they moved into the Municipal Building where they stayed for over 40 years. By this time they had a new Seagrave pumper that could spray 600 gallons a minute.
Harry Siegfried, a nozzleman, was one of those long-time volunteers along with several family members. Harry’s daughter, Bess, remembers going with her dad to the station when she was a child. “I polished those nozzles until you could see your face in them.”
Cambridge First Department became a fully paid fire department in 1946. Now someone was at the station 24 hours a day for a quicker response time. The first Fire Chief was H.C. Callihan, who served as a volunteer and chief for 62 ½ years.
Early in 1959, many will recall the disastrous fire at McMahon Gymnasium that destroyed the gym, industrial arts room, and band room at an estimated loss of $250,000. The cause was blamed on an overheated furnace. Nearby Central High School and St. Benedict Parochial School were saved due to the Cambridge Fire Department with assistance of fire departments from Byesville, New Concord, State Hospital, and Old Washington.
All available firemen were summoned in 1968 to a major fire at Variety Glass Company on the corner of Foster Avenue and North 2nd Street. Of high concern was the possible damage of glass molds – some from the Cambridge Glass Company. An estimated $300,000 in damage was partially covered by insurance, which was used to rebuild the facility.
Later in 1968, firemen were called to the Scottish Rite Auditorium where another disastrous fire was discovered on the third floor. Over a hundred firemen from seven area fire companies and many local citizens helped fight the blaze which caused destruction or damage to Scottish Rite Auditorium, Suitt Furniture Company, and the theater workshop.
In 1975, Cambridge Fire Department moved to its present home at 902 Gaston Avenue. Shortly after that move in July 1979 one of the most tragic area fires in recent times happened at Holiday Inn on Southgate Parkway where several died of smoke inhalation.
In more recent years, there have been several downtown fires where buildings have been destroyed. The Cambridge Fire Department always arrives quickly and keeps the fires from spreading to nearby buildings.
Today the Cambridge First Department consists of 25 full-time personnel operating from one central station with Jeff Deeks serving as Chief. These dedicated men train continuously. They have two fire engines, a ladder truck, heavy rescue vehicle, water rescue, and two utility vehicles.
They protect the citizens and property of the City of Cambridge and Cambridge Township. These firemen risk their lives for not only family and friends but complete strangers as well. Thanks for 150 years of service to our community!
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