ESTABLISHED
1879
PAST
FIRE CHIEFS
1879-1893
Thomas Even
1893-1905
John R. Townsend
1905-1906
Joe Disney
1906-1907
M.R. Hurford
1907-1929
M.D. Murphy
1929-1934
Marvin Murphy
1934-1948
W.L. Wertman
1948-1950
Walt Curtis
1950-1959
Walt Stier
1959-1963
Don Wondercheck
1963-1969
Boyd Baer
1969-1992
Bill Ortmeier
1992-2006
Mike Hiatt
2006-Present Matt Hilger
HERE ARE SOME
NEAT OLD PICTURES OF THE DAVID CITY HOOK AND LADDER CO.
THEY ARE PROBABLY FROM THE LATE 1800'S.
--CLICK
TO ENLARGE--
This
is the oldest "truck" in the station. It is an old
hand powered pump unit used in David City years ago.
Thanks to Ruth Nichols who recently donated her time to help
refurbish the old hand pumper. Tom Hamling also spent a lot of
time removing the old paint.
Here are a few tidbits from
years past...
The DCVFD was called out for
the first time, April 9, 1879 to a fire at the stable and granary of
Dan Turner, west of the city. On April 14th, Mayor E.R. Dean
called a meeting to form a permanent organization to be called the
David City Fire Department. They held their first drill on
April 19th.
In February, 1880, one
fireman was fined for using obscene language. The fine at the
time for missing a meeting was 5 cents.
The fire alarm, in the early
days, was sounded by ringing triangles and church bells. The
signal was changed several times after that. In August 1911,
emergency calls were made by ten successive taps of the fire bell,
and after a pause, a repeat until several men had responded.
The signal was changed again in 1914, when a screech whistle was
installed on the light plants and a steam whistle was used in
1931. In 1957, it was decided to blow the whistle every day at
noon, to check its efficiency. A tornado signal was put into
use in 1965. Three 10 second blasts and a repeat at one minute
intervals was used to warn of the approaching storm.
In 1888, it was decided to
hold monthly meetings on the first Monday. Each new member had
to pay a $1 membership fee.
The department sponsored a
masquerade dance in 1894. Only those with a mask or 75 cents
could dance. Spectators were charged 25 cents.
It was adopted in April of
1901 that the maximum number of members allowed in the organization
be set at 50. If the membership fell below 50, the application
on file longest would be on called on.
If a member missed 8
meetings in 1902, he was dropped from the department, but in 1904,
three absences meant expulsion from the force.
The city decided in May,
1932, to purchase a 1/2 ton truck and mount a chemical tank on it
for city or county use. The city paid $900 and the fire dept.
gave $850 toward the purchase.
At a meeting in 1932, it was
decided that no one should drive more than 35 miles an hour on a
straight street, and no more than 15 miles an hour on curves.
The firemen were given one
room in the new City Hall, built in 1934, for their office.
Members marked the dept's
60th anniversary in April, 1937, and celebrated 65 years in 1942
with honorary and past members as guests.
Hospital beds and mattresses
for anyone in the county to use were purchased by the dept in
1948. Later that year a new rescue unit was purchased,
also. In 1954, the rescue squad installed a new 5000 watt
generator.
A new fire truck was
presented to the dept. in 1948. The city purchased the 1 1/2
ton 1947 Chevrolet truck. All equipment was added to the truck
by local workmen. Floyd Nichols did the welding on the tank
and Harold Forney did the welding on the body and doors. The truck
had a 350 gallon water tank and a pump capable of pumping 500
gallons a minute. It also had 150 feet of booster hose and 750
feet of 2 1/2 inch hose with fog nozzle attachments. The main
feature of the new truck was the ability to spray water while in
motion, which was especially helpful in the case of a grass
fire. The cost of the truck was estimated to be half of what a
similarly equipped factory made truck would have been.
