By Gordon and Belle Hall
Few records have been kept in regards to the activities of various groups in Cochrane – one being the Cochrane volunteer fire department in 1956. While recovering from an operation, I had the time and opportunity to search through the old Village of Cochrane council minute books from 1903. Through these minutes I was able to trace the start of the fire department.
In Heritage Park, in Calgary, in front of what was supposed to be the old Cochrane fire hall, there is a plaque with a story on it about how the horses stood ready in the stalls, waiting to pull the Cochrane fire rig. This makes a good story, but it is not true as at no time did horses pull the rig. The village was not big enough and the rig was pulled by manpower, being just a small chemical outfit. The supposed fire hall was a barn that sat next to the fire hall and the one end knocked out housed the ladder rig. However, as regards the history, at a council meeting of February 13, 1909, a discussion took place on fire protection. There was a motion by Andrew Chapman and seconded by Gerald Mortimer that the secretary write R. Bickle of Winnipeg to purchase two 60 gallon chemical engines of the Obenchain Boyer type, then another motion by Chapman and Mortimer to the effect that J. H. Campbell and G. Mortimer be a committee to procure a suitable site for a fire hall, providing some can be got at a reasonable price. The apparatus consisted of water in the tanks, with a small amount of acid to make foam. The council promptly drew on the treasurer for $50 as a down payment.
At the same meeting, it was decided to accept Robert Chapman’s tender for the erection of council chambers and fire hall for a sum of $419. The building was to be completed by April 15, 1909, also the secretary wrote Bickle to ship the fire engines at once. Council appointed R. Hewitt as the first fire chief and he was to pick 12 associates for his brigade and to pick a suitable building and packing cases for a fire test on June 7, weather favourable. Most of their concern was with hay and sheaves which were stacked around barns, also faulty chimneys and on August 7, 1910, the chief was empowered to put up signs dealing with fire regulations. Hewitt was paid the sum of $5 per month to be constable, fire chief and sanitary inspector. Hewitt resigned in 1910.
We find at the March 2, 1909 meeting the committee has found Lot 7 Block 6 and could be bought for $150. The council finds encumbrances against the lot so this site is scrapped. Then at the March 13, 1909 meeting, they found the west halves of Lots 7 and 8, Block 7 could be purchased from C. W. Fisher for $150.00 Chapman was reappointed chief in 1913 with an additional $25 per year and the regular fire fees were to be :$2 retaining fees: 25 cents for each practice (24 per year): $1 per hour for first-hour fighting fire and 50 cents per hour for additional hours, which sounds lucrative, to say the least.
On January 25, 1913, Tom Quigley was asked to thaw out the apparatus.
On February 19 they bought a 10-foot ladder from R. Bickle and two 16-foot roof ladders from R. Chapman.
Sam Christianson was chief for 1914/15/16 and 1917 when he was paid $10. Christianson was the local blacksmith.
In May 1919, Robert Butler was asked to secure assistance and overhaul the fire engines. Butler must have been chief for 1919 as he sent the council a bill for $25. However, we find in a meeting of Feb. 9, 1920, motion by Rollinger that R. Chapman does the job and M. J. Tesky was appointed chief. Equipment was purchased namely a 25-foot hose, two attachments and one union, one minute book, and one coil pump. Robert Chapman was appointed chief in 1912.
One of the main problems concerning the brigade was how to keep the apparatus from freezing, having just wood and coal stoves at that time, someone had to keep a fire in the fire hall during the winter months. At this point in time, by order in council, the fire apparatus was to be taken out of the Firehall and housed in Chapman Garage with R. Chapman as chief. The Chapman Garage was later purchased by Marshall Baptie and the old rig was stored there from 1920 to 1945 when Baptie Motors burned and the old rig went with it.
After reading the village minutes from 1903 I find the first big fire was the Murphy house and the house next to it. The fire is mentioned in the minutes of December 12, 1927. The following year the Fisher Block burned – mentioned in the minutes of October 1, 1928.
The Cochrane rig never acted on these fires as it would have been useless. The Calgary department sent out a rig but took too long to get there and had no water when they did.
Nick Cosis had a shoemaker shop in the Fisher Block. After the fire, he rented the fire hall from 1928 until the 1940s when he retired. Nick was a Greek and quite a gambler, and inside the fire hall the walls were covered with Irish Sweepstake tickets.
From a Peep into the Past A collection of Historic Poems and Short Stories by Gordon and Belle Hall Vol. 1
