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When the east side of Main street was destroyed by fire in 1882,
Maquoketans realized that if their property was to be safe from
conflagration the town must have a municipal water works.
The project had been considered previously but the recent
disaster brought added pressure and the water system was
installed.
Just as the days of the "bucket-brigade" as a fire
fighting means had passed, so had the old hand pump
which was operated by no one in particular or by anyone
happening to pass along. During the same year that
the water system was installed, a group of seven men met
in the Hatfield barber shop and determined to form a
volunteer fire company. The seven men were Fred
Fischer, Gene Hatfield, Alf Hurst, Bill Jacobsen, Will
Reeve, Frank Slaughter and Sam Struck. Of these,
Will Reeve is the only charter member living. It
is interesting to note that Fred Fischer was the father
of Harry, present fire chief, and Ben Jacobsen the
father of Ben and Adam, veteran fire-fighters.
The Fire Kings, as they called themselves, purchased a
hand-drawn cart and began their service of the city.
The company became well known as a running team and
Hurst's Hose Team became known far and wide for its
speed and prowess. Each morning during the spring
and summer the men went early in the morning to the
Hurst pasture north of town to practice and would pull
their hose-cart over a 300-yeard course. At the
many exhibitions they gave they would run against time,
trying to beat their own record, but quite often they
entered hub-and-hub contests with teams from other
towns. One of the gayest events in the history of
Maquoketa was the state firemen's convention which was
held here, when the crack teams from all over the state
participated in contests.
Eventually two other companies were formed, the Barnes
Hose Co., and the Hook and Ladder Co. Each of these was
equipped with the old hand running carts until the
advent of the automobile when each company purchased a
Ford truck. The city purchased the hose and paid
each fireman 50 cents a fire.
On January 16, 1928, the city council decided to
reorganize the fire department, and disbanded the three
companies which at that time had a total of 60 members.
The building which the city had built to house the Fire
Kings truck became police headquarters. A modernly
equipped truck was purchased and a company of 15 members
and a chief was organized. Under the present
system, each fireman receives $1.00 for each fire he
attends.
Present chief is Harry Fischer, son of one of the
charter members of the Fire Kings, and who has been in
the fire department for more than 30 years.
SOURCE: Jackson Sentinal Centennial Edition, 1938.
(We would love to have photos to go with this story.)
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