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HISTORIAN’S CORNER
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PHELPS HISTORY
200 Years of the Town of Phelps
FIRES AND FIREMEN
By Don Tiffany - Aug. 2005
Myron Fuller was probably the last link to manually operated fire apparatus in Phelps. He and "Old Ocean" were inextricably connected. With Fuller's passing and Charlie Lane's construction of a chemical wagon and the Model "T" hose truck for the White Hose Chemical Company and another fire truck for the Redfields, the motorized era had begun.
Chief Lane was the undisputed leader of the Phelps firemen during the first two decades of the twentieth century. He was a member of the Redfield Hook & Ladder Company for 30 years. He was elected Fire Chief of Phelps from 1900 through 1915 and again in 1919. He had great influence on fire fighting policy and organization during his tenure.
The last year of the second decade of the twentieth century was destined to be one of the most eventful times for the Phelps firemen. On the night of January 7th they were successful in extinguishing a fire at the Seneca Kraut Plant in the West End. The firemen received a letter of thanks from the Seneca Kraut Company in March.
The following officers were elected on April 1, 1919 - - EMPIRE HOSE CO. - President, Alfred Canfield; Foreman, James Cudebec; 1st Asst., Burt Weisgearver; 2nd Asst., Floyd Wilson; Sec., Harry Hall; Treas., John Bailey; Fire Wardens, John Fitzgerald & Floyd Cudebec; Delegates, John Bailey, Frank Hicks & Floyd Cudebec. EDMONSTON HOSE CO. - President, Francis Henry; Sec., Frank Hutchinson; Treas., Charles Main; Foreman, Harry McDougall; 1st Asst., Harry Wilbur, 2nd Asst., Frank Courtwright; Delegates, William Frank, Francis Henry & William Caton - (delegates were instructed to support Frank Courtwright for Fire Chief); Fire Wardens, William Caton & Francis Henry. REDFIELD HOOK & LADDER CO. - President, Frank Hawley; Sec., Herman Bengston; Treas., James Rickerson; Foreman, Floyd Conklin; 1st Asst., William H. Hammond; 2nd Asst., Gilbert Stanton; Delegates, Frank Hawley, James W. Rickerson & Arthur Conklin; Fire Wardens, Jams Rickerson & Frank Hawley; new member, W.M. Smith. WHITE HOSE CO. - President, James Kavanaugh; Sec., L.G. Bridger; Treas., E.W. Fairman; Foreman, Clair Hurgett, 1st Asst., George Loney; 2nd Asst., W.H. Wilcox; Delegate (3 years), F. Holleran; Fire Warden (2 years), H. Hicks; new member, F.E. Benton.
The following week Charles Lane was again elected Fire Chief and B.M. Coon and James Woolf as Assistant Chiefs. Chief Lane was authorized by the Village Board to purchase rubber coats for the White Hose Company.
A fire broke out at Fridley's Mill on Marbletown Road just north of the Village on April 2nd and was completely destroyed. The nearest hydrant was 1500 feet away from the blaze and the firemen couldn't reach the fire with the hose they had. More hose was borrowed from Hydrant Hose from Geneva to be bale to reach the flames. [Geneva had responded quickly to the call, reaching the scene in 11 minutes.] By that time all they could do was protect the nearby buildings and cool the ashes!
Phelps Fire Chief Charles A. Lane had been in poor health since the beginning of the year (1919) and finally died on August 28th. His passing was a heavy loss to the Fire Department. His years of dedication, experience, expertise and active participation in the development of fire-fighting equipment and company organizations were, and are, unparalleled in the history of Phelps. He had completed the fire truck for the Redfield Hook & Ladder Co. just days before he retired from business because of his deteriorating condition. His funeral was held from his home in Skuse's Corners and he was buried in Dobbins Cemetery at Packwood's Corners. The pallbearers were all members of the Redfield Hook & Ladder Co. The funeral was attended by Village officials and fire department officers from Phelps, Newark and Geneva. The members of the Redfields, Whites, Edmonstons, and Empires all turned out in uniform to march in the funeral procession. The chemical motor wagon carried the flowers from the house to the grave. It must have been a splendid sight!
B.M. Coon became interim chief At the May meeting of the Whites, Harold Combs was elected as a member and the company ordered a new motor truck. More changes came in 1920. Gas masks were obtained from the War Department for the use of the firemen.
The Village Board at their first meeting in 1920 allocated funds to the different fire companies to help pay for new fire trucks and apparatus. The White Hose Co. had two motorcars, a chemical engine and a hose cart. The Redfields had one of each, and their motor truck body, which had been built by Charlie Lane, was being replaced by a larger one, which would hold six ladders and four extinguishers. The former truck body of the Redfields was being fitted to a Moline chassis for use by the Edmonston Hose Co. All this work was being done by the firemen themselves at no cost to the taxpayers. The local companies were constantly improving their abilities to fight fires and decrease their response time in answering calls by modernizing equipment.
Because of the size and proximity of buildings and the population density in the cities, there was a constant need for bigger and more efficient fire-fighting apparatus. Thus most of the innovations and development of fire equipment took place there. This technology gradually filtered down to the rural communities but it took many years.
At first, all equipment was pulled to the fires by the men themselves. As the hose carts, ladder trucks and pumpers increased in size, horses were needed to pull the heavy apparatus, especially the steam-powered pumpers. A strange problem occurred - the men couldn't keep up with the horses! So, boards were mounted on the sides of the various pieces of equipment so the firemen could ride to the fires. These new innovations were called running boards!
The fire horses and steam-powered pumpers needed constant attention so the cities had to maintain paid, professional firefighters in fire stations at all times. The small rural communities had neither the manpower nor the means to afford such operations so were limited to equipment that the local men could haul themselves -- until the motor car came of age.
Again, the cities were the first to develop the gasoline-powered pumpers and ladder trucks. The city fire stations were still maintained but they were much healthier places for the firemen because now no horses were kept in the same building as the men, and the pumpers were powered instantly when the truck was started. No constant fire had to be maintained to supply steam to the engines. The automobile had narrowed the gap between rural and city firefighting equipment.
Matthew O'Brien died on March 12, 1920. He had been the proprietor of the Phelps Hotel for 20 years, a past Village President and Fire Chief. The Village Board approved on May 6th the membership of John Benge, Charles Wood, Martin Hope and Rex Younge in the Edmonston Hose Co. and Elmer Falkey and Frank English in the White Hose Co. The White Hose and Empire fire companies saved the kraut factory on Pleasant Street on June 10th from a grass and trash fire next to the building.
Finally, in August of 1921 the Village Board approved the purchase of 200 feet of fire hose and 100 feet of chemical hose and a new nozzle. In October Vincent Iddings, Ernest Iddings, Carl Fenner and George Davis became members of Edmonston Hose Co. A fire did extensive damage to the Phelps Foundry on September 14th. The New York Central freight house was burned to the ground on October 23rd. The following day there was a fire at Ernest Schoenacker's dry house on Newark Street. The fire was speedily extinguished and the building was saved.
There was a fire in a haystack on the Facer farm north of Phelps near Alloway on May 28, 1922. Bill Corwin drove the chemical truck to the fire and discharged four tanks of chemicals. Pumpers from Newark and Lyons fought the blaze also. The buildings were saved. The Whiting residence on East Main Street was partially destroyed on Memorial Day, 1922. The largest fire of the year occurred on June 10th when the Rathbun mill at Unionville was completely destroyed by an early morning fire. Lightning was suspected. The White Hose, Empires and Redfield Hook & Ladder responded but it was too late to control the blaze. The extensive foundation of that large building can still be seen today, 83 years later!
The results of the fire company elections in 1924: EDMONSTON HOSE - Pres., L. Main; Sec., B. Palmer; Treas., C. Main; Foreman, N. Norton; 1st Asst., H. McDougall; 2nd Asst., Wm. McGuire; Delegates, N. Norton, C. Young & Wm. McGuire; Fire Wardens, H. McDougall, N. Norton. WHITE HOSE - Pres., H.S.G. Loveless; Sec. L.G. Bridger; Treas., J.B. Parmelee; Foreman, Miner Sebring; 1st Asst., George Loney; 2nd Asst., Frank McAllister; Delegates, Harry Fridley, Claire Burnette & Frank Holleran; Fire Wardens, Frank Benton & T.S. Welch. EMPIRE HOSE - Pres., Matthew Meath; Sec., A.J. Canfield; Treas., John Bailey; Foreman, George Weiss; 1st Asst., Lawrence Bowen; 2nd Asst., Bert Weisgearver; Delegates, John Bailey, Lee Britcher & Floyd Cudebec. REDFIELD HOOK & LADDER - Pres. Frank Hawley; Sec., Charles Galusha; Treas., George Pinkney; Foreman, Walter Veeder; 1st Asst., George Pinkney; 2nd Asst., Lloyd Boswell; Delegates, George Pinkney, Frank Hawley & Walter Veeder; Fire Wardens, John David & Frank Hawley. James Rickerson was elected Phelps Fire Chief. David A. Hibbard of the White Hose Co. was elected Phelps Fire Chief, James Woolf of the Empires as 1st Asst. Chief and Lewis Main of the Edmonstons as 2nd Asst. Fire Chief. Hibbard had been acting Fire Chief since the death of James Rickerson almost a year ago.
Dave Hibbard started with fireman's blood in his veins. He was born in an apartment above the Seneca Falls firehouse. His father drove the first fire department team there. Dave moved to Phelps, married Mae VanBuren and opened a barbershop on Church Street. He was active in Village affairs, was elected Fire Chief in 1924 and held that post until 1930 when the fire companies merged. He was then elected Chief of the Phelps Fire Department and held this office until 1937! He was also active in the Northern Central New York Volunteer Firemen's Association.
The results of fire company elections in 1928 -- EMPIRE HOSE CO. - Pres. Floyd Cudebec; Sec., Lawrence Bowen; Treas., John Bailey; Foreman, Harry McDougall; 1st Asst., Edward Galusha; 2nd Asst. Fred Wilson; Wardens, Floyd Cudebec & Bert Weisgearver. WHITE HOSE CO. - Pres., Frank Benton; Sec., William Corwin; Treas. Harold Combs; Foreman, Frank McAllister; 1st Asst., Henry Coon; 2nd Asst., Miner Sebring; Wardens, Miner Sebring & Valere Minet. REDFIELD HOOK & LADDER CO. - Pres., Fred Redder; Sec., John Bowen; Treas., H.L. Bengston; Foreman, Arthur Conklin; 1st Asst., Carlton DeVall; 2nd Asst. John Carlson; Wardens, Herman Carlson & Charles Galusha. In June the Village Board approved the member of Lester Marshall, Stephen Kent, Hugh McStravic & Charles Courtwright in the Empire Hose, and Wayne Southard, Peter Tillman, Clark Bullock & Emile Dhalle in the Redfield Hook & Ladder Co.
The White Hose Chemical Co. responded to a call on Maryland Street where an abandoned house and barn were burning. The chemical truck threw a tire but the firemen continued the run to the fire on the rim. But, on November 28, 1928 the worst fire since 1864 occurred. The Empire State Pickling Co. factory on Eagle Street was completely destroyed in an early morning conflagration. Although all Phelps companies responded including the Empire Hose at nearby Franklin Street and companies from Newark and Geneva, the buildings were a total loss estimated at $400,000 (1928 $$$s!) Six boxcars on the RR siding, loaded with kraut were also consumed.
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