FIRE!

By Retired Firefighter Bud Cleavenger

and

KFD Office Staff

1907-1910

Before 1907, the fledging town of Kennewick had two hose carts and a chemical rig for fighting fires, but they had no organized firefighting group.  The hose carts were capable of carrying about 400 feet of 2 1/2 inch hose and the chemical rig was a large soda-acid fire extinguisher on wheels.  These units were the most modern that could be obtained and were said to have been fabricated by a local blacksmith.

Back then there were cases where  the equipment would never arrive at a fire because people were conditioned upon hearing an alarm to rush to the fire and start hauling belongings out into the yard.  Generally most fires resulted in a total loss.  The procedures have changed but the idea of salvage is still in practice today.  There were a few fire plugs (fire hydrants) and what pressure was available was low.  When the pressure got so low it couldn't furnish a good stream of water, the bucket brigade began.

Talk in the town then was common about how the City needed an organized fire brigade but the comment was generally "yup, we should do that one of these days".  In March of 1907, a town meeting was held and a formal volunteer fire corps organized.  Officers were H.E. Johnson, President; George Scott, Vice President; J.N. Scott, Chief; Alex Bier, Assistant Chief; J.N. Mueller, Second Assistant Chief; H.C. Stringer, Secretary and Ben Knapp, Treasurer. 

At the first meeting, a representative of the Portland Fire Apparatus Company showed a catalog with equipment including coats, helmets, boots, spanners and a ladder wagon.  A building was needed but out of the question so they settled on purchasing an alarm bell to be mounted on the roof of a town building.  When the equipment arrived, it turned out not to be quite as good as the catalog showed.  Better equipment would cost extra.  Back went the order and the City Fathers decided to hold a dance to raise the necessary funds to get the right equipment.  The dance was held in the ballroom of the Kennewick Hotel, the grandest place in the region.  In 1948, the three story landmark burned in the City's most spectacular fire.  The dance was a success and the right equipment was ordered.  The Kennewick Fire Brigade was in business! 

In the latter part of 1907, a ladder wagon was purchased and Ed Coulson was named Fire Chief.  With the arrival of the ladder wagon, Kennewick was seen as the most modern and well-equipped for its size in the state  and other volunteer firemen came from all over to watch the Kennewick boys drill. 

In 1908, a steam operated whistle was mounted at the power plant tower.  Volunteers would listen to the number of blasts to determine what part of town to rush to if there was a fire.  In 1910, E.A. (Spike) Ferrell was appointed Fire Chief.  Fire equipment was spread around town and Ferrell's first request was for a building for the equipment and a bunkhouse for the four or five bachelor firefighters who needed a place to live.  Alas, there wasn't enough money so the equipment stayed at various locations and the bachelor firefighters had to fend for themselves. 

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1913-1919

On October 13, 1913, the City voted to pay firefighters for each fire they fought.  It was pretty good money for the time - $2 for the first hour if they arrive before the hose was attached to the water source and $1 for each hour thereafter.  The Council also agreed to rent the Hennebery Building at the corner of Kennewick Avenue and Front Street for $20 a month as a fire hall.  It not only could house all of the equipment but had comfortable quarters for the single boys to live in.  Again, volunteers from all over the state came to Kennewick to check it out. 

In 1914, Charles Haas was named Fire Chief and served until 1915, when S.B. Nichols served about six months and then Haas served again as Fire Chief.  Nichols launched an effort to get a louder alarm so a second Firemen's Ball was held and money raised to buy a new electrical siren.  Dr. Crosby, whose dentist office was across the street from the building with the new siren, said he couldn't hear it when he had his electric drill working on some poor patient.  The siren was returned.  It wasn't loud enough.  "The City needed a siren that could wake up the dead within a two mile radius," quipped councilman George Tweedt.  Eventually, Kennewick gave up on a siren and went back to an alarm bell. 

Bill Marsh was named Fire Chief in 1918 and his first request was for a motorized fire engine.  The Council turned him down.  The next Fire Chief, Wilmont Gravensland, also made the same request in 1919 but failed as had Marsh. Gravensland also broached the idea of a full time paid Fire Chief.  In 1921, the idea of a motorized fire engine came to the Council again but the Council said it couldn't afford both the engine and a much needed bridge over the irrigation ditch at Second Street.  A bond issue election was held for the fire engine and failed by a single vote.  The fire volunteers threatened to resign so a second election was held and the bond issue passed by a three vote margin.  The money was used to purchase a 1922 American LaFrance Brockway Torpedo for $6,200, considered then to be one of the finest available.  The Fire Chief said the men were like a bunch of kids turned loose in a toy store.  Nothing since has had such an impact on Kennewick as it's first fire engine, which was later called "Old Bessie".  She served the City from 1922 to 1948, when she was replaced by a new 1948 Mack truck. Her last official duty was at a fire at the Commercial Hotel at the corner of Washington Street and Kennewick Avenue.  She didn't have to go far - just half a block.

Around 1960, the Kennewick Firefighter's Local 1296 I.A.F.F purchased "Old Bessie" from the City.  It was repainted twice before being completely taken apart and refinished in 1995 by Ed Spencer and a number of other firefighters.  Today, it is housed at Station 61 and used in parades and other community events.  The 1948 Mack was an object of envy by other fire departments.  Kennewick's reputation of being on the cutting edge of new firefighting technology was growing.  It wasn't long after the new truck arrived that it was called to Pasco to assist them in a large downtown business district fire.  Kennewick people said they could hear the roar of the pumps across the river.  It also made mutual aid runs to Benton City and Richland.  Around 1919, the Department moved from the Hennebery Building to the City Hall building along with the Police Department.  This building was at the corner of Kennewick Avenue and Cascade Street but it didn't have space for any living quarters. 

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1935-1977

 In January of 1935, a second fire truck was purchased for $5,000 - a Seagraves Volunteer guaranteed to pump 500 gallons a minute.  The City Council also kicked in $1,200 to remodel part of the City Hall at the corner of Washington Street and East Kennewick Avenue for a fire and police station.  In 1937, the Fire Department was reorganized with new uniforms, new rules and new life with the new Fire Chief J.C. Pratt.  For the first time, records would be kept of fires and there would be regular bi weekly drills. 

In March of that year, the fire ladies, as they were being called then, held a dance to raise money to send five men to a fire college in Everett.  Also in 1937, each firefighter was required to have first aid training.  It was a pivotal year because Kennewick hosted the state fire convention and in December the firefighters delivered boxes to 30 needy families.  Chief Pratt told the City Council that in 1937, there were 13 fires inside the City limits for a loss of $875 and 15 fires right outside the City limits.

In 1942, the old hose carts were bought by the federal government and sent to the Veterans Hospital in Walla Walla. "Old Bessie", the 1922 American La France, went to war, so to speak, and was loaned to the War Department for use at the Big Pasco warehouse storage facility for about eight months until a more modern piece of firefighting equipment could be acquired.

In 1944, the City added on to the City Hall with four stalls for firefighting equipment and a back room.  In the rear was housed the Street Department.  In 1948, the portion used by the Street Department was converted to living quarters for the volunteers.  Thirty people were listed as volunteers by then.  It was also in 1944 that the City hired its first paid Fire Chief, Herb Malchow.  He was paid $200 a month but had to serve as Building Inspector and a rather bad sounding title of Sewer Inspector.  He also had to furnish his own vehicle for all of his duties. 

In 1948, the City purchased a huge 1,000 gallon a minute Mack and a smaller 750 gallon a minute pumper so it could respond to rural fires.  It was also time to retire "Old Bessie" but not before she was pressed into a last time duty pumping out basements of homes along the Columbia River that were flooded in the flood of 1948.

In 1950, the City hired four paid firefighters.  The first was Jim Billingsly and what he remembers most about the first few years is that he was getting paid $8 a day and the volunteers $3 a fire.  If they had three fires in a day, the volunteer was getting paid $9, a dollar more than a full-time paid firefighter.  Billingsly remembers one day having 12 fires.  One fire that stood out in Billingsley's mind was at a slaughterhouse down by the river.  A bunch of uncooked wieners were hanging on a hook and the men were roasting and eating them as they fought the fire.  The four full-timers worked 24-hours on and 24-hours off. A fifth firefighter was hired so the men could at least get two days off in a row.

In 1958, the City hired five more men and constructed a new two stall satellite station on Kennewick Avenue near Angus Village close to present day Highway 395.  Then in 1967, the firefighters took on a new and important role - driving ambulances and giving emergency medical attention.  Up until 1967, the funeral homes provided ambulance service.  Chief Malchow retired in 1972 and was replaced by Jim Deines, who served until 1977 and was replaced by Gene Graves.  When Graves took over, the City had a Fire Chief, Fire Marshal, three Captains, 27 Firefighters and a Clerk Typist. There was also 15 volunteers on the active list. 

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1985 to 2001

Bobby F. Kirk took over as Fire Chief in 1985.  In the later half of the 1990's, the Incident Management Team was established. Local and State IMT personnel respond to local, regional and state emergencies such as wildfires, earthquakes, riots, floods and other natural disasters.  During this time, we have built two new fire stations and replaced the entire vehicle fleet. We have also developed a Technical Rescue Team (TRT) and a Hazardous Materials Response Team.

Today, the Kennewick Fire Department has 78 total employees which includes 9 staff and  69 line firefighters, of which 25 are trained as Paramedics.  Some Firefighters have at least a two-year associate college degree in fire science with many of them also having a bachelor degree.  The starting pay is $3,108 a month, which increases to $4,089 in three years.

Current personnel serves in four stations located throughout the city and maintain 21 rigs including a ladder truck which can reach 105 feet that was purchased in 1995 at a cost of $458,000.  Compare that with "Old Bessie" the City's first fire truck costing $6,200.  There are no longer any volunteers for the City of Kennewick Fire Department but they do depend on volunteers from rural Fire Districts for mutual aid calls.

 The City of Kennewick and Benton County Fire District #1 are currently developing a Joint Training Facility, currently under construction at 19th and Ely. This training field will house the Training Divisions for both Departments and include classrooms, training props, Emergency Vehicle Accident Prevention (EVAP) driving course and a multipurpose training building, where the basics and advanced firefighting skills can be maintained. Task Performance Evolutions (TPE's), hose lays and other mandatory training requirements will also be conducted at this site. We are looking at a target date for completion sometime in the Year 2004.

In the last five years alone, we have hired at least 15 new firefighters and increased our staff members by two people. We added new positions including the Captain/Inspector for the Fire Prevention Division, a Captain/Training Officer and the EMS Officer in the Training Division.  Third party billing was established on January 1st of  2001. This created seven new positions - two went to the Finance Department and five went to the Fire Department.

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