Denver’s firefighting efforts gained impetus after the city’s first major fire on April 19, 1863, when carousers accidentally set off a blaze that demolished the central business district and caused nearly $250,000 worth of damage. A contrary wind made the flames nearly impossible to fight since the five year-old town contained mostly wooden structures. Afterward, the city wisely rebuilt in brick.
Denver finally formed its first Volunteer Hook & Ladder Company on March 25, 1866. The following year, the city built the first station at 1534 Lawrence St. and purchased a hand pumping draft engine. Unfortunately, lack of both water and manpower limited its use. Early firefighting equipment was cumbersome, hauled without the benefit of horsepower. Volunteers would pull a hand pump to a water source, place one end of the hose in the water and then attach the other end to a hose from the cart. When they finally reached the fire, 10 men on each side of the cart were needed to pull down the large handles that kept the water flowing.
The original Station One, dedicated Jan. 2, 1882, housed the Broadway Hose Co. No. 6, a volunteer company, at 15th Street, Broadway and Cheyenne. Note Denver’s first baseball field next door.
The city had its first water system by 1872, making the use of fire hydrants and hose companies possible. If the hydrant was too far away from the fire, firemen would dig down and find the wooden water pipe, then drill a hole and pound in a hose fitting. Later they would cover the pipe with a wooden plug and leave a sign that read “Fire Plug.”
The Fire Department has always been organized along military lines, including the uniforms, hierarchy of rank and even the discipline. The bugles on the badge indicated the wearer’s rank and the apparatus to which they were assigned. Since fires provided a lot of excitement and everybody liked to help, the first departments were staffed primarily by volunteers. Wealthy sponsors like Silver King Horace Tabor paid for the uniforms and some of the equipment.
Although the hobby could be dangerous, the social rewards for volunteer firemen were numerous. Firemen held lavish balls and fierce competitions, where teams pulled hand drawn trucks, climbed ladders, pulled hoses and threw water. Central City’s famous Rough and Ready Hook and Ladder Team provided Denver’s primary opposition at major events.
The Pioneer Monument, seen here shortly after construction in 1909. Station One moved to 1326 Tremont St., which currently houses the Denver Firefighters Museum. Photos courtesy Denver Public Library, Western History Collection
The city’s volunteer fire department met its Waterloo during the Chinese riots of October 1880, when the mayor ordered reluctant firefighters to aim their hoses at rubberneckers to disperse the crowd. Many of Denver’s finest citizens, some dressed in their Sunday best, found themselves drenched and splattered with mud. This action only escalated the riot, which lasted for several more hours, and ended with many injuries and one death. Coincidentally or not, the volunteer fire department was phased out the following year and replaced by a professional force. The city also got its first steam engine in 1881.
During the 1880s, the French traveler Jules Leclercq noted the abundance of house fires in Denver, caused primarily by owners who would set fire to their homes during hard times to collect the insurance. Fire Department officials were not beyond corruption, either. In 1894 Denver’s Fire, Police and Public Works departments were answerable to boards appointed by the governor. Newly elected Gov. Davis Waite had vowed to clean up the city and get rid of police and fire officials who were shielding gamblers, criminals and prostitutes.
When Waite fired the commissioners, they barricaded themselves inside City Hall with several weeks worth of supplies, protected by a brigade of firemen, policemen and underworld characters including notorious con man Soapy Smith. When the governor sent in the first regiment of the Colorado Infantry, the Chaffee Light Artillery and 300 troops from Ft. Logan, a bomb brigade inside the hall threatened to throw explosives at the militia. Fortunately, federal intervention prevented any bloodshed, but numerous firings, demotions, transfers and promotions followed the incident.
Denver Firefighters Museum is located at 1326 Tremont Place. Photo courtesy of Denver Firefighters Museum
Many acts of heroism by firemen kept the department in the headlines over the years. After Denver annexed suburbs Elyria, Barnum, Valverde, Highlands, West Denver and South Denver in 1904, the department was greatly expanded, requiring a larger Firehouse #1 by 1909. The city had its first motor driven pump by 1915 and a truck ladder two years later. By 1924, the Denver Fire Department was fully motorized and horses-drawn fire engines moved into history.
By 1931, Denver’s per capita fire loss had dropped far below the national average. The following year, DFD headquarters moved from condemned City Hall at 14th and Larimer to the new City and County Building and five years later to 14th and Court Place. The most recent move occurred in 1971, when the department headquarters were relocated to 745 Colfax Ave. That same year, self-contained breathing apparatus was introduced. Another milestone occurred on Aug. 21, 1985, when Heather Larson becomes first woman DFD firefighter.
The disastrous Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center led to several changes in operations and communications in fire stations throughout the nation. Although firefighting has changed considerably over the past century and a half, the siren song of a wailing fire engine still holds a certain fascination for most of us. At the Denver Firefighter’s Museum, located 1326 Tremont Place, fire buffs can take a trip back in time. The museum houses a fantastic collection of antique firefighting equipment, memorabilia and artifacts, including a rare steam pumper and three motorized trucks. Visitors can wear actual firefighting outfits, try out equipment and even climb aboard a fire engine. Activities include a 911 teaching phone, child size firefighting gear, children’s pole and fire truck, and a touch cart full of real firefighting tools. A special children’s gallery on the third floor includes computer kiosks, puppet theater, reading center, video center, and a hop scotch that teaches matches and lighter safety.
The museum’s Website at www.denverfirefightersmuseum.org includes a series of podcasts highlighting various apparatus in the museum, which is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. but will be closed on New Year’s Day. For information, call 303-892-1436.
