BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
IRON MOUNTAIN FIRE DEPARTMENT - 1883 to 1925
Iron Mountain organized a volunteer fire department in August of 1883. This
was no doubt in reaction to a large downtown fire that occurred in January
of the
same year, with no fire department to fight that fire. It has been historically
noted that the newly formed department complained bitterly that they were not
given money for uniforms and equipment, which greatly decreased their enthusiasm.
The "niggardly spirit shown by the business portion of Iron Mountain" was
cited as the problem. The newspaper story also had this to say: "Judging
from the rates charged, the fire insurance companies must find the Range towns
a veritable bonanza." Three years later, the city had fifty fire hydrants
installed.
In January of 1887, Iron Mountain was the scene of another large fire which
destroyed several buildings. The fire "laddies" were praised for their work on
the fire. It has been noted that, again, there was nothing but talk, and no encouragement
from the board on the issue of pay for the firemen. It was further noted that
anything the board does for them is seen as a personal favor, after much solicitation.
The newspaper reported that the board was "penny wise and pound foolish" when
it came to the fire department.
The Iron Mountain Fire Department became a paid department in 1888, the same
year in which Iron Mountain was incorporated as a city. There were two stations
at that time. Very shortly after that, they were praised for their well-organized
help in a fire that destroyed forty-three buildings in Norway. Two months later,
an arson fire in Iron Mountain destroyed thirteen buildings which were described
as" fire traps." In 1889, the alarm box system was installed, making
it much easier to report fires in a timely manner.
Less than one week after the alarm boxes were installed, Vulcan had a fire which
destroyed twenty homes. Mutual aid was requested from Iron Mountain, but could
not be given due to fires occurring at the same time in Iron Mountain.
May of 1891 saw a large fire in the City of Norway. Unfortunately for them, the
Norway fire engine was wrecked in an accident, and Iron Mountain responded by
loading their engine on a train car, and fighting the fire overnight.
December of 1891 saw the late night fire which destroyed St. Joseph’s Church.
Both fire companies (No. 1 & No. 2 Iron Mountain stations) were praised
for their excellent work.
In November of 1893, the Immaculate Conception church burned to the ground. Both
fire companies responded quickly, but an inadequate water supply hampered their
efforts. Fire Chief Harvey stated that they were not able to put water on the
roof at any time during the fire attack.
January of 1898 saw another disastrous fire, with several building destroyed.
This fire was reported to the fire department by a police officer at 1:30 a.m.
It was reported that this fire was the most stubborn fire experienced in many
months.
The city municipal offices, and the police and fire departments moved into the
sandstone building on Ludington Street in the year 1900.
Another large fire occurred in the wee hours of February 25, 1904, when a large
building housing several businesses was destroyed. This was at the corner of
Stephenson & A Streets.
Thirty buildings covering two city blocks were destroyed by fire in Quinnesec
in May of 1906. The Iron Mountain Fire Department sent men and equipment to aid
in fighting that fire.
In 1914, a new No. 2 Fire Station was erected on the north side, replacing the
old No. 2 station at 709 Vulcan Street, which had been built in 1893.
On June 25, 1914, the police portion of the City building on Ludington was the
site of a bombing, with a bomb made of dynamite.
The Rundle Opera House was the sight of another large fire, which was reported
at 4:30 a.m. The building was already full of fire when the fire department was
called. The fire fighters were again highly praised for their extraordinary efforts,
which left the lower floor standing intact. Three firemen, including the chief
were injured at this fire, one of them quite seriously.
December 2, 1915, another larger downtown fire, with three buildings destroyed,
was reported in the wee hours of the morning. This was reported as the second
large fire in the past several months, the other being the burning of the Rundle
Opera House. Fire fighters were able to save another building which actually
caught fire several times. The firemen were highly praised for their efforts.
In 1916, The Iron Mountain Fire Department received a new fire engine with a
sixty horsepower engine. It was described as one of the best, had room for eight
firemen, and would be able to navigate our hills.
On the night of September 11, 1923, another large fire occurred on the 500
block of Stephenson Avenue. This fire was reported at 11:45 p.m., and destroyed
several
buildings. The No. 1 Iron Mountain fire station responded first, and it’s
reported that the entire neighborhood was already lit up by the mass of flames.
Iron Mountain Fire Station 2 was then called. It is reported the fire fighters
risked their lives several times in order to place hose lines where they would
be most effective. One fire fighter was injured severely enough that he nearly
collapsed from blood loss, before a tourniquet was applied. He later went to
St. George’s Hospital for treatment. An interesting note in this story
is that it is reported that there was a city ordinance at the time which stated
that if a building is damaged to more than half its value, no wooden structure
could replace it. This was seen as the worst fire the city had experienced
in two years, since the Anderson building on Ludington Street was destroyed.
A huge fire occurred at the Ford wood yard in 1925, in what is now Kingsford.
Iron Mountain was the first fire department to respond, but were hampered by
forty mile-per-hour winds. Fire departments as far away as Crystal Falls, Escanaba,
and Marquette responded to this fire, which could be seen for miles. Thousands
of spectators came to view this severe fire, some from as far away as Marquette.
Iron Mountain’s No. 2 fire station assisted at an arson fire in Quinnesec
in August of 1925. This fire burned the power lines which ran the pump that
provided the city with the community water supply, and also burned the telephone
lines,
cutting off communication between Quinnesec and Iron Mountain.
In September of 1925, Iron Mountain’s assistance was requested at a huge
fire in Channing, but could not be given because there was no way to load the
steam fire engine onto a train car. The Crystal Falls Fire Department responded
to calls for help, but took one and a half hours to travel seventeen miles,
due to engine trouble.