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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
June 22, 2023     Shelton Mason County Journal
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June 22, 2023
 
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voy Hotel was destroyed by fire in September 1925, the Shelton Kiwanis Club, the Active Club and the town council held a meeting to discuss the need for better firefighting capa— bilities. At that time, Shel~ ton had three hose carts, which had been delayed in arriving at the fire due to lack of practice on the part of the firefighting volun— teers. It was decided that the town needed to acquire better equipment, including a motorized apparatus and a larger supply of hose, and that the volunteers should be reorganized. Early in March 1927, Mayor Pritchard and the town council made a trip to Portland, Oregon, to inves— tigate various makes and prices of firefighting ap- paratus. They specifically wanted a machine that was a combination chemical and pumper, with a 350~gallon tank and the hose and lad- ders needed for quick ac- tion. They also looked into several makes of fire alarm sirens, intending to have an alarm system installed when the new fire truck ar— rived in Shelton. On March 4, Journal owner/editor Grant Angle wrote, “When the bright new fire apparatus comes to town, there will be many volunteers glad to ‘run with the machine,’ and reorga— nization of the volunteer workers will be in order. The Anlerican Legion, with members employed in each of the local garages, will have a number of men in- structed in the care and operation of the new equip- ment to ensure a competent man within reach at all times.” In late March, the city received six bids to supply Shelton with its new fire» fighting equipment, rang— ing from $4,550 to $13,000, “the latter being the class which cities buy and out of the question for Shelton.” The matter was referred to the Fire, Light, and Water Committee for study. Angle wrote that “Because Shelton has a good gravity pressure Immediately after the Sa— jve.‘ / Hlsrbnv AT A GLANCE with which it has gotten along fairly Well to date, it is thought that only moder— ate power will be required, and if the machine pur— chased will develop a throw of 300 gallons per minute or better, it will be sufficient to entitle this community to a 20 percent reduction in its insurance rates. Suf- ficient power is required in the motor to make any of the streets to the higher dis- . tricts in good time and also to pump a good stream un- der the lighter pressure.” At a meeting four days later, the town council de- cided on a firetruck made by the Howard Cooper Com- pany, costing $6,200. The machine would be specially built and delivered to Shel- ton in 45 days. It would include a standard pump rated at from 400 to 500 gallons a minute according to water supply, a special chassis, a lOO—gallon water tank for emergency supply (instead of a chemical sup- ply), ladders, hand chemi- cals, and other equipment to complete a first-class fire- fighting outfit. Shelton’s first fire truck, “the last word in modern fire—fighting apparatus,” arrived on the evening of Thursday, June 23, brought by two representatives of the Howard Cooper C0., who‘stayed to supervise the breaking in and instruct the Legion men in the handling of the new truck. On Thurs- day, the machine ‘underwent “a rigid six-hour test at the Shelton Spring and passed all of the tests, which were conducted by representa— tives of the Washington Sur~ veying and Rating Bureau.” The truck was equipped Let’s Get Ready for. Warm Weather! 321 5. 2nd St, Shelton, - (360) 426-8208 We’re the place for you! we’re A45 Rated for 15 Years! ‘ Thursday, June 22, 2023 Shelton-Mason County Journal - Page 5 Shelton’s first firetruck % I. ALL _, ' ‘2... New fire truck with Maurice Needham,‘ of the American Legion, at the wheel. Photo courtesy of Mason County Historical Musuem with a 48-horsepower m0— tor that had a dual capacity for locomotion and pump— ing. Its pumping capacity of 500 gallons per minute was clearly brought out in g the tests, the power engine throwing as high as 575 gallons. The truck bed ac— commodated 1,000 feet of 11/2 inch hose. Twelve- and 24-four-foot extension lad- ders, two electric lanterns and four hand extinguish- ers completed the specified requirements, and with the arrival of a new electric fire alarm, Shelton’s firefighting equipment was complete. The engine was put in the hands of the American Le-- gion, and a crew was ap- pointed to care for and oper- ate it. In July, Inspector Brawn from the Washington Sur— veying and Rating Bureau of Seattle inspected and rechecked the local firefight- ing equipment. Water pres- sure in hydrants was found to be good in all locations. Mr. Brawn stated that Shel— ton was well-equipped to handle any fire call and that with all modern and up- to-date equipment, the fire hazard in the city and adja- cent residential areas was greatly lessened. Later in July, the “pow- erful electric siren with a raucous squawk that will surely wake everybody for miles around” was installed on the roof of the Peninsu- lar m'achine shops. The vol~ unteer fire department was out every Thursday evening with the new fire pumper and had made the rounds of all city hydrants to make sure everything was in or- . der in case of fire in any direction. In August, the old city jail on Cota between First and Second Streets was remodeled into an up-to- date fire station. Concrete partitioned cells were torn out to make one large room. “Double spring doors, with trap action, will be part of the new equipment and will conform with the latest ideas in station construc- tion.” The roof was remod- eled to accommodate a sky- light and a hose tower. Fire Chief Hans Jensen would have an office in the rear of the building. At the end of September, Novel Longan' "::Bé’5t Mechanic years in ‘ ' 2033 Olympic Highway Nerth ' Shelton fire broke out in the wood— I shed of a property on South Hill (Angleside) and very quickly spread to adjoin- ing buildings including the house. The first warning was sounded by “the big whistle at the powerhouse,” as well as locomotive whis- tles from the train yard. A slight defect in the button control of the new electric siren resulted in its de- layed functioning, and the fire apparatus was already enroute to the fire when it sounded. Although the fast-burn— ing fire destroyed every building on the property, the new firetruck performed as expected and “Fire Chief Jensen and 15 volunteers soon had the flames under control.” I Jan Parker is a re— searcher for the Mason County Historical M uscum. She can be reached at par/c- teCG‘Izctcacom. Membership in the Mason County His— torical Society is per year. For a limited time, new members will receive a free copy of the book “Shelton, the First Century Plus Ten.” 426-1467