Decorah: A Walk into the Past

Decorah: A Walk into the Past. Water Street Trail. , “The Fire Fiend” , Fires have been a hazard since Decorah's early days. Even before an organized fire department existed, Decorah citizens banded together to fight fires threatening buildings and lives. One of the first recorded fires in the late 1850s destroyed Decorah's first frame building, the Pioneer Store, standing on the southwest corner of Washington and W. Water Streets. After the store was rebuilt, fire again destroyed the building in 1871. This time intentional use of incendiaries was the suspected cause. The building was rebuilt yet again, this time in stone and brick. Injury and loss of life occurred on August 30, 1862, when the William Olson saloon burned, George Gulbranson burned to death and others were badly injured. On November 1, 1866, a "great fire" with losses estimated up to $40,000, burned out Dennis and Hulverson, P.J. Smout, Greene and Morss, and other businesses, and also destroyed the office, presses, and most of the printing paper and news type of the newly established Winneshiek Register newspaper. Located on the site where Vesterheim's main building is now, the Tremont House, barn, and outbuildings burned down on January 30, 1867. The fire was fought in bitter cold via a bucket brigade drawing water from the nearby river with volunteers including children manning the line. One youngster reported that his boots froze to the ground, and he had to use an axe to free them at the end of the fire. Intentional use of incendiaries was suspected although the owner left town soon after the fire and was never charged. The positive result of that fire was a meeting to organize a fire company in Decorah held just days after the fire on February 12, 1867. , A Fire Company Organized , An article in the Decorah Republican reported that the Decorah Fire Department was formally organized in October of 1876 and consisted of two companies, Rescue Fire Co. No. 1, “armed and equipped with Babcock chemical, and the Hook and Ladder Company, equipped with its present apparatus.” The meeting to organize was held on March 10th, 1876, at the city hall on Winnebago Street. The first chief was G.L. Wendling, with R.F.B. Portman, H.M. Langland, George Q. Gardner, James A. Leonard, and Ben Bear serving as chief in subsequent years. It was reported that the firemen attended to ten fires in the first year with the first fire at Mrs. Adaliza Hughes' house on Broadway. At one fire, “they forgot their hose and relied upon buckets and the neighbor's wash tubs” to subdue the flames. , By 1882 two hose companies and a hook and ladder company were in operation with Chief Engineer R.F.B. Portman at the helm. Assisting Portman were 1st Assistant W.A. Bonstell, 2nd Assistant James A. Leonard, Hook and Ladder Company Foreman F.D. Field, Hose Co. #1 Foreman George Hislop, and Hose Co. #2 Foreman George Q. Gardner. Portman's “untiring energies coupled with a knowledge of what was required” were credited with making the department very efficient. Fire was no respecter of persons as 2nd Assistant James A. Leonard discovered when his bookstore burned in 1887 with loss to fire of $10,000 and insurance covering only $7,300 of that loss. , According to fire records, fires seemed to occur fairly regularly with injury and loss of life resulting in some of them. Natural causes like lightning triggered some, heating and cooking stoves caused others, while smoking in bed resulted in still others. The Luther College Main building was destroyed by fire on May 19, 1889. Dr. W.F. Coleman's two sons were burned while fighting the fire with son Dell dying from his injuries. Lightning struck the second Luther College Main building destroying it on May 31, 1942, despite valiant efforts on the part of the firemen to extinguish the blaze. Causes of some fires were recorded as “unknown.” The six-year-old Grand Opera House, “pride of all Decorah,” was one example. It was reduced to charred ruins in a short time on July 18, 1898 despite efforts on the part of the fire department to extinguish the blaze. Lives were also lost in the line of duty: Chief Carl Danielson died when a heart attack felled him at the Canoe Creamery fire on July 22, 1945, as he prepared to drop the truck's suction hose in the nearby creek. , Fire Station and Equipment , Although previously located elsewhere, for over sixty years the fire department was located adjacent to where you are now standing. The city hall and meeting rooms were located on the second and third floors above the fire department. A bell mounted on the top of the building to alert the fire crew of a fire was rung by the first person arriving at the fire department, and equipment was brought to the site of the fire by the hook and ladder company and the hose company. A Babcock chemical cart pulled by horses, a horse-drawn fire engine steam pumper, a hose cart, a hook and ladder cart, and leather buckets were among the pieces of equipment used by early Decorah firefighters to extinguish blazes. Completion of the Decorah water works in 1881 provided a dependable source of water during fires in the city. A news article in the July 9, 1902 Decorah Public Opinion reported that a new steam fire whistle had been installed. When the Reum Poultry house located “on the flat behind Water Street” burned in January of 1912, the bell rope on the fire station was frozen so the bell on top of the fire station could not be rung and valuable time was lost notifying firefighters about the fire. The Decorah Public Opinion in a January 10th article called for a better system for alerting firemen to a fire. Following the fire that destroyed the Anderson brothers’ barn on September 14, 1912, installation of an electric fire alarm system was discussed in the Decorah Public Opinion. A series of three alarms, one at city hall, one at Hose House No. 2, and one at the old town hall in West Decorah was proposed. Activation when a fire occurred was via the central telephone system with an indicator there turned to the ward where the fire was reported and the alarm given at all three alarm locations simultaneously. This system replaced the steam alarm used previously. , Regular meetings of the firemen were held and a book of by-laws outlined the code of conduct required of them. “Cussing,” disorderly conduct, and other infractions resulted in a series of fines from 25 cents upward. The firemen enjoyed picnics, dances, banquets following the annual inspections, and field meets with other towns’ fire companies. However, duty called regardless of celebratory events. On July 4, 1877, two separate fires occurred disrupting a firemen's dance at the Steyer Opera House. M.H. Howard's livery stable was destroyed with a falling wall injuring one of the firemen, several volunteers overcome with heat, and another fireman injured by an axe. Later a small barn behind Felix Curran's Union Hotel burned and the fireman left the dance to fight a second fire. , The fire station on W. Water Street was replaced by a station incorporated into the new city hall by 1961. A meeting room, kitchen facilities, office, and sleeping quarters for the duty officer as well as a garage for storage of the fire trucks and equipment are contained in this facility. , Beginning with volunteer bucket brigades in the 1850s, today's firefighting equipment has progressed to include one aerial truck, two pumpers, two tankers, one rescue heavy duty pickup, two multiple use pickups, two ATVs, a flat-bottomed rescue boat, and an RDC (rapid deployment watercraft), all manned by a force of 32+ firemen. From the 1870s to the present, the Decorah Fire Department has continued to answer the call, serving the needs of its citizens, saving lives and property despite risk of personal danger, injury, and death. As American writer Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. expressed it: “I can think of no more stirring symbol of a man's humanity to man than a fire engine.” , [other photo captions] , . R.F.B. Portman became fire chief in 1877. Portman's "untiring energies coupled with a knowledge of what was required" were credited with making the department very efficient. Portman's profession of attorney typified the wide variety of vocations represented by the volunteer firemen. , . A small book from c. 1879 belonging to Chief R.F.B. Portman contained by-laws for Decorah Fire Rescue No. 1. Rules regarding uniforms, conduct, and meeting attendance were set forth as well as a list of fines for infractions of the rules. , . The secretary’s report from April 19, 1914 lists receipts and disbursements. The letterhead lists 30 men on the Hook and Ladder Co., Rescue Hose Co. No. 1 with 22 men, and Star Hose Co. No. 2 with 22 men. , . A fire of unknown origin erupted just before noon on February 15, 1911 at the Ruen Cloak Store located in the Relf building at 130 W. Water Street and rapidly spread to adjacent buildings before the fire was extinguished. A second fire in the same building occurred on April 24, 1912 and was billed as "one of the most costly" with over $50,000 in damages reported to it, adjacent offices and businesses, and their contents. The left and center photos show the 1911 fire in progress and the right photo shows the aftermath of the 1912 fire. Note the long ladders used in the first two photos and how close spectators are standing to the fire. , . Fire Chief John Sigvart Alstad holds a silver trumpet won by the Decorah Hook and Ladder Co. at a competition. The local department still has the trumpet on display at the fire station. , . Fireman fight a fire on Winnebago Street in the 1950s. The fire engine is a 1946 LaFrance. , . Carl Svenson was assistant chief from 1966 to 1968, then served as chief of the fire department from 1969 to 1973. He joined the State Fire Marshal office in September of 1973. Upon retirement in 2001, Carl received numerous letters of commendation from fire chiefs, sheriffs, police chiefs, and the United States attorney, all expressing sincere appreciation for the professionalism and dedication he displayed in some of the most high profile arson and explosives related cases in the history of the state., Funding for this sign provided by: Victoria Lobell Svenson