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Socialization of the firemen at this time was an important factor.
Companies became like fraternities or clubs. Meetings were adjourned
to the "Brew House" for camaraderie and refreshment. Firemen's
parades were also a popular public event and the March 1842 Antietam
Fire Company minutes detail discussing a meeting with the Hagerstown
Hose Company to have a firemen's procession. Hose battles in the
Town Square brought the firemen out for competition, as well. These
battles stopped before World War II due to an injury sustained by
one of the firemen. Hagerstown companies no longer compete as in
days gone by although some cities still do in some manner.
During this time visiting other fire company’s were the early
version of political or business conventions in which one department
would host another for a few days of business and pleasure. The
celebration would include parades and receptions with the highlight
being firefighting competitions. The first tournament on record in
Hagerstown was in 1851, when the Antietam Fire Company welcomed the
Independents of Frederick on a visit. A contest of water throwing
was held in front of the Court House and the Antietams beat the
visitors by twenty- five feet. The Antietams performed well in
competition through the years. In 1907, the reel team won a victory
in Annapolis. They won another competition in 1912 according to the
Minute Books. The 1914-15 Fire Company Minute Book entry dated July
1, 1914 hails congratulations to the Reel Team on establishing a new
world's record of 36 1/4 seconds in the Hose Race at Westminster,
MD.
The 1880's was an active time for the Antietam Fire Company as
evidenced in the Minute Book, 1883 - 85. Invitations were received
to several fairs and a parade. However, rowdiness was apparently a
problem. The February 1884 minutes mention the suspension and
attempt to expel members for disorderly conduct at Greencastle, PA.
On July 7, 1885 they voted to have a convention with the other
Hagerstown fire companies to discuss working together. The Company
again supported improvements in fire fighting with in the city in
1908. They adopted a motion to endorse a conference with the
Hagerstown fire companies to investigate the possibility of
establishing rules and fire lines with in the city limits. Brawling
and competitiveness was not unique to the Antietam Fire Company. It
had been a national problem aggravated by the monetary rewards often
paid to the first company at the scene of a fire. In addition, fire
companies were politically powerless and the rowdiness was
overlooked.
The
Antietams held themselves to a high standard of behavior which is
still continued today. The old minute books have numerous examples
of meetings held in which members were disciplined and/or expelled
for misconduct, theft of company property and breaking the "law of
the land".
Today,
the Antietam Fire Company, Inc. is managed by a small core of
volunteers; 15 active firefighters and 30 active members out of a
membership of over 600. They come from a variety of careers. A
random look at the membership records for the 20th century reflect
the various industries located in Hagerstown, civil servants, and
middle management. As fire companies nation wide made the transition
from volunteer to paid departments in the second half of the 19th
century, the era of the social fraternity began to wane and
prominent citizens played less of an active roll as volunteers. The
city of Hagerstown has incorporated the volunteer companies within
the city fire department.
Thus, the Antietam Fire Company is a combination company. It relies
mostly on its volunteers to fight fires, but has city owned
equipment and city paid drivers for the engine. Training for fire
fighters has changed through the years with the change of
technology. Gone are the days of the practices and contests in the
town square to sharpen the skills of the men. Today, the volunteers
must pass a basic Fire Fighting I course given by the University of
Maryland in order to ride the apparatus. Written and physical tests
are also given to ensure that firefighters meet professional
standards. Their skills are kept current with monthly training
sessions.
The active members of the Antietam Fire Company take their training
and their jobs as firemen seriously. They want to be known for their
contributions to the fire service in the areas of training and
technology such as the introduction of the use of new equipment.
Overall, they want to continue to be recognized for their
professionalism (Sprecher, July 21, 1999), a trait that the members
of the company have guarded well throughout their history.
Throughout the 200 years of our fire company, we have lost two
members in the line of duty. They were Walter Sharer and Fred
White. Walter Sharer died from injuries sustained during a fire and
Fred White passed away from a heart attack while on duty.
THE FIRE HALL
The Antietam Fire Station is known to have inspired the design of
the nation's only War Correspondents Arch, a memorial to U. S. war
correspondents'. The original front facade of the building dates
back to 1895 and survived two fires in the early 1900's. The
building houses the Antietam Fire Company, Inc., the second oldest
incorporated fire company in the history of Hagerstown. The fire
station is part of the Hagerstown (National Register) Historic
District which includes a variety of functions from commerce/trade
and industry to social and government uses. During the time of
construction, Hagerstown was experiencing massive industrial growth.
The elaborate Romanesque exterior is typical of the era following
the 1893 depression known as the "golden age of architectural design
for firehouses". The interior of the fire station has been
modernized through the years and is still a working firehouse. A
second floor has been rented to various local businesses since 1897.
In May 1889, the Antietam Fire Company purchased a lot where the
present fire station stands for the sum of $1,100 from Martha and
Rebecca Middlekauff. The construction of the building took place in
1895. The bids ranged from $6500 to $12,000 which was higher than
the company had expected. The Building Committee cut the proposed
cost by $1,100.
They intended to propose new plans to closely model a Washington
engine house. However, it is not certain whether this happened. In
fact, John H. Middlekauff was named as taking the contract in the
Daily Mail newspaper on May 4, 1895, but according to an article
from the same source dated January 2, 1896, Clifton Lamkin was
listed as the architect.
Nevertheless, the design of the Antietam fire hall depicts the
building period of 1890-1918 known as "castles and palaces". Leading
architects were hired to design elaborate fire stations as tributes
to the heroic firemen and their service.
This "golden age of fire station design" set fire stations apart
from other public buildings. In addition, the construction was
during the height of Hagerstown's industrial, transportation, and
building boom.
The
year of 1914 was disaster for the Antietam Fire Company. On October
28 a raging fire spread from the roof of the adjacent Sherlay
Building to the fire hall. The entire structure was destroyed except
for the front facade at a loss of $30,000. The second floor served
as the armory for Company B of the Maryland Regiment. The Hall was
occupied by the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company as well.
The Antietam Fire Hall drawing plans were approved in June 1915 at a
cost of $125. Unfortunately, another fire occurred within the
Antietam Fire Hall in 1920. The extent of damage is unknown at this
time; however, it is believed to have been less severe.
Despite the tendency to design elaborate firehouse exteriors, the
interiors were generally plain. Towers were built to hang leather
hoses to drain and dry. A second floor served as a bunk room during
the 1880's and 1890's since horses were brought inside the firehouse
to save time hitching them to the engines. The Antietams themselves,
had horse-drawn fire equipment by 1890.
The
year of 1914 was disaster for the Antietam Fire Company. On October
28 a raging fire spread from the roof of the adjacent Sherlay
Building to the fire hall. The entire structure was destroyed except
for the front facade at a loss of $30,000. The second floor served
as the armory for Company B of the Maryland Regiment. The Hall was
occupied by the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Company as well.
The Antietam Fire Hall drawing plans were approved in June 1915 at a
cost of $125. Unfortunately, another fire occurred within the
Antietam Fire Hall in 1920. The extent of damage is unknown at this
time; however, it is believed to have been less severe.
Despite the tendency to design elaborate firehouse exteriors, the
interiors were generally plain. Towers were built to hang leather
hoses to drain and dry. A second floor served as a bunk room during
the 1880's and 1890's since horses were brought inside the firehouse
to save time hitching them to the engines. The Antietams themselves,
had horse-drawn fire equipment by 1890.
Fire
Fighting Apparatus
The Antietams had two horses John and Jim to pull the hose wagon
until they were killed 1912 by downed electrical wires on in their
way to a fire. The stalls were in the fire hall until 1910 (Minutes,
4-6-1910) at which point the company paid to have them pastured and
boarded. The remains of the automatic horse harness apparatus can
still be seen hanging from the ceiling of the north bay. The horses
would automatically move under them at the sound of the fire bell.
When the horses were killed, the era of the motorized apparatus was
ushered in. The company asked the Mayor and City Council for funds
for an automobile fire truck (Minute Book, 7/19/12).
The first motorized fire apparatus was a 1913 Knox combination
pumper. The Company’s next pumper was a 1924 Ahren’s-Fox Model N-S-4
followed by a 1948 Model HT Ahrens-Fox.
In 1961, a Mack Model B95 pumper replaced the 1948 Ahrens Fox which
became the reserve engine. In 1982,
a Mack Model CF was purchased and the Ahrens Fox was sold.
In
2004, a KME pumper with a totally enclosed cab was purchased due to
the fact that firefighters were no longer allowed to ride on the
tail board or in jump seats. The Company contributed $130,000.00
toward the purchase of the new engine.
Today
2007 also presented another first. The Antietam Fire Company alone,
has never purchased a motorized vehicle since the use of horse drawn
equipment. In the past The City of Hagerstown had been responsible
for all motorize vehicle purchases.
During the summer of 2007, The Company commissioned Plastisol
Composites to build a utility type vehicle. On November 4th 2007,
The Antietam Fire Company officially put into service Special Unit
32.
Special Unit 32 is built on a Ford F-550 super duty, 4 wheel drive
crew cab chasses. It is equipped with 4-scott 4.5 scba's,
extinguishers, absorbent, step clocks, and an assortment of hand
tools. The unit is equipped with A 1500 amp inverter, 2 100' cords
and quartz
lights.
As in the past tradition, Special Unit 32 was pushed into its
quarters by the members and volunteers of The Antietam Fire Company.
This was a historical event and shows how fund-raising can benefit
the community. The Antietam Fire Company purchased the Ford F-550
with funds raised through out the years. This unit now provides
additional support to the Hagerstown Fire Dept.
2007
brought great change to The Antietam Fire Company. A new bunk room
was built to accommodate our active volunteer firefighters.
For
the first time in the history of the company the volunteer
firefighters had their own living quarters, if they choose to spend
the night.
During our 200 years, many changes have occurred. They began using
bucket brigades and moved to hand pumpers with leather hoses, then
from horse drawn steam engines to motorize apparatus. They also
progressed from All Service Mask to Chemox Breathing apparatus and
then to Self Contained Breathing apparatus.
Additional changes brought with it Thermal Imaging Cameras, female
firefighters and the Incident Command System. Our 200 years have
seen many improvements but the heart of the company has never
changed and that is because of our volunteers.
Hard copies of History Book may be ordered please contact DDaveler@myactv.net subject
line
Engine #2 History
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