Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

ALBERNI - Pre amalgamation

The Alberni Fire Department was first organized in April 1909, during a meeting held in Mr. M. Tebo's office. Sixteen attendees agreed to be fire fighters and five attendees agreed to be a Management Committee. The first Chief was E. M. Whyte (although it is also suggested that Mr. G. Forrest was the first Chief). There were two Deputy Chiefs - A. Waring and G. Ward.

The first practice of the newly formed Department was in May, 1909. The first fire fighting equipment was a collection of buckets. Forty-eight buckets were used in this first practice. "Water was dipped out of the north side of Kitsuksis Creek by the bridge and was passed about 75 yards in the direction of the Alberni Hotel".

Approximately 1910, a hand drawn hose reel, complete with some hose, was obtained. The first man to get hold of the reel and pull it to the fire scene was paid $5.00. This was a lot of money in those days and ensured competition to get the hose to the fire. (Competitions of that era involved races with hose reels).

Above is a photograph taken approximately 1915 - 1916 showing a team ready to go. Location is Johnston Road and Victoria Quay - on the southeast corner).

A second hose reel was obtained prior to 1920, but exactly when, is not known. Both reels were stored in the "combination school and Firehall" on the northeast corner of Elizabeth Street, and Burke Road. (Again no exact date is known as to when this building was built, but it was obviously built after 1910). (See also the following story entitled "The Firehall School" on pages 21 - 23). The only photographs of this building available are shown on page 20 and were taken in the late 1930's or early 1940's, (Alberni & Port Alberni firemen with truck) and approximately 1951 (buildings in background with children and one adult male in foreground). Unfortunately, the emphasis of the photographs is on the people rather than the firehall.

View of Alberni Firehall looking north from Burke Road. (circa late 1930's, early 1940's).

View of Alberni Firehall looking east on Burke Road from a little bit west of the corner of Elizabeth Street and Burke Road. (Square building is Alberni City Works Building. Firehall is in the background. Note bell tower on roof.)

Box 2264 Squamish, B.C. V0N 3G0

September 11, 1995

Dear Rusty:

The following is an exerpt from a series of articles my father wrote for his family. As a result, they do not pertain to your project, but I thought you might find them interesting and useful. I have removed some of the personal comments from the exerpt. If you want anymore information you might contact him directly at his home in Victoria:

Mr. W. F. Ramsay #39 - 1255 Waine Road Sidney, B.C. V8L 5R4

THE FIREHALL SCHOOL

“When we came to Alberni in December, 1922, one of the first things that had to be done was to establish Peter and me in the community Public School. Indeed this was one of the reasons that my parents made the decision to leave the prairie farm in Saskatchewan to return to Alberni. A family had to be educated. At that time a school building programme was needed but funds were not easily available so that temporary classrooms had to be found. Grade Five to Eight were located in the two room school building at the top of the hill on the Nanaimo Road which was, and still is, Johnston Road. Grades Three and Four were housed in the old Post Office building on Johnston Road between Elizabeth Street and Adelaide Street. But Grades One and Two were housed in the Firehall at the corner of Elizabeth Street and Burke Road and only a block and a bit from our house. The building rested on posts on the edge of a swampy piece of ground with the result that there was a sizable space underneath it in which frogs and skunk cabbages thrived. It was a fine place to play. The dominant feature of the building itself was the bell tower which rose above the rest of the structure and was capped by a pyramidal-type roof which housed the firebell. The fire equipment which consisted mainly of large-wheel hose reels which could be trundled by manpower or horses was sheltered on the ground floor behind large doors. A wide plank ramp gave easy and speedy egress for the equipment. The building was a grey colour as the cedar shingles which covered roof, walls, tower and all, were grey with weathering. Our school room was on the second storey. Annie Croll was my first teacher. She was a wee body, very conscientious, strict and probably over conscious of the important part she played in the community as she was the daughter of a well-known and respected Alberni family. I can remember the children lining up in rows of two abreast on the ramp over which the hose reels emerged from the building when the alarm was sounded: girls first and boys second, marched up the winding stairs which had one bend in them to the classroom. I can still smell the blended aroma of stale lunches, oiled wooden floors, plasticine and chalk dust which created part of the atmosphere of the school. Heat was provided by a wood heater at the back of the classroom. Blackboards, and they really were blackboards, ranged over three of the walls. The fourth wall was mainly windows. The desks were arranged so the light, very properly, fell over the left shoulder and did nor create a shadow on the paper for those who wrote with the right hand, and in those days the expectation was that everyone would write with his right hand or be considered anything but normal. The command "Go to the blackboard" struck panic in every school boy's and school girl's heart. It propelled him from the security of anonymity onto the harsh glare of publicity and put him on his metal to reveal to the whole world his knowledge or ignorance. It was one of those devices of the teacher that either scared them silly or scared them smart. But the great adventure occurred when the fire bell was rung. The whole building swayed and reeled to the point where we were sure it would topple off it's post into the swamp. We could not be evacuated because we would then spill out onto the ramp and interfere with the movement of the fire reels. We stayed there: trapped, shivering and frightened. I spent three years in that school, and as a consequence lived through many fire alarms. Some renovations were made to the firehall school. A long ramp was built over the swamp to provide access to a new classroom on the ground floor. Grades Three and Four were moved from the Post Office building onto these new premises so that it was not through retardation that I remained so long in the firehall school. One of the great events that I remember so vividly but cannot be sure of the exact date was the year of the big snow. I think it was in early March of 1923. It snowed all night. The great heavy wet flakes piled up phenomenally. When morning broke there was four feet of snow on the ground. Roofs groaned and some collapsed. The town was immobilized. My Dad, assisted by neighbours or visa versa, dug a trench four feet deep past the school to Johnston Road where the shops were. School was closed until the roads could be opened up. In those days this usually meant until the thaw came. For many days we had decimated classes. The children from McCoy Lake area and River Road could not possibly get to school. I can remember my brother and I making our way through the deep trench that had been dug out past the school. We were so small that we could barely see above it. Picket fences were completely covered. The West Coast General Hospital on Redford Street was isolated. Even milk trucks could not get to it, much less the doctors, all two of whom lived at some distance from the hospital. The valley was completely cut off from the rest of the world. Today's readers will realize that communications in Alberni were not what they are now. The government telegraph office operated by Mrs. Haslam out of her home on Gertrude Street was the only really reliable source of news from the outside world in the deep snow. The only practical means of getting from Alberni to Port Alberni was by boat on the Somass River. On one occasion some years later when the snowfall was equally as bad, boats had to come to the rescue of Alberni residents marooned at Port Alberni. A New Year's Eve dance had been held in the old Memorial Hall which was located on Argyle Street where the City Hall now stands. When the dance was over the snow was so deep that it was impossible to get through by land to Alberni. Charlie Clark's boat came to the rescue. Crowded with the night's revellers it made it's way from the wharf at the foot of Argyle Street to the wharf at the foot of Johnston Street, from whence the Albernians had to battle their way through the snow on foot to their homes. The firehall school served the children of Alberni for many years. John Howitt who taught the Grade Seven and Eight Class in the school on the hill was the principal. It was not until the early 1930's that a new six room school was built at Helen Street and Johnston Road. All existing school premises were then abandoned in favour of the new school and all Alberni children in Grades One to Eight cames under one roof.”

I hope the above is useful to you.

Yours very truly,

Robert J. Ramsay

1. Ramsay, William, F; Recollections of My Childhood Days in Alberni; 1995

As cars and trucks became more common, often the hose reels were towed to the fire scene by citizens' vehicles. It became very apparent that the Department should get a motorized fire truck.

In 1926 the City Council of Alberni was persuaded to fund a fire truck and in 1927 a new Chevrolet truck was purchased. It's size is thought to be a 1-ton. It's primary task was to take men and hose to a fire scene. The photo below shows the truck laying hose in a competition in the early 1930's.

The 1927 Chevrolet shown during a Competition in the early 1930's.

This truck served for about 10 years, and was then replaced with a new 1937 Ford which had a front mounted pump on it. This was Alberni's first "pumper" truck. (The 1927 Chevrolet was given to the Alberni Water Works Department).

Alberni's - 1937 Ford Fire Truck with front mounted pump.

During the mid 1940's it was decided that a newer, larger, more centrally located Firehall was needed for Alberni. Also, it was decided that a second fire truck was needed because of the growth of Alberni, and to provide a backup truck.

The Firehall was approved in 1947, was built and completed in early 1948. On July 6th, 1948, the new Firehall was dedicated.

Photo above taken in 1968 shows a Fire Department vehicle parked in front of the new Alberni Fire Hall.

Shortly thereafter the new 1949 pumper was received. The photo below shows this truck undergoing it's acceptance pumping tests.

1949 Pumper shown undergoing it's acceptance pumping tests.

On December 15th, 1960, the Department took delivery of a 1960 Commer Van. This was purchased to carry the extra equipment that the Department had been acquiring and for which there was not compartment space on the pumper trucks. The best photo available of this van is one showing it at a street fair, approximately 1969 (after amalgamation, and thus with the Port Alberni Fire Department insignia on it).

1960 Commer Van

There were two other vehicles that, over the years, were in the Alberni Fire Department lineup. One was an ex W.W. II Studebaker Army Ambulance. This unit was bought by the Alberni Firemen's Association (with the City of Alberni paying for the ongoing licensing and maintenance). The reason it was bought was as a backup unit for the first line ambulance owned and operated by a local taxi company - United Cabs.

Ex - World War II Studebaker Army Ambulance

Photo showing the Alberni Firehall and 3 vehicles that were operated out of the Hall between 1948 and 1954.

In 1954, the local Kinsmen Club bought a new 1954 Pontiac Ambulance, which was then donated to the City of Port Alberni, who was now the owner of the Ambulance operation, although it was still United Cabs who operated the ambulance service on the City's behalf. This new Pontiac caused the previous first line ambulance, still owned by United Cabs, to become surplus. United Cabs sold this unit, a 1948 - 7 passenger Dodge sedan, converted for ambulance usage, to the Alberni Firemens’ Association. The Firemens’ Association sold off the old Army Studebaker at this time.

The photo taken approximately mid 1960's, shows the Dodge Ambulance at the Alberni Firehall.

After amalgamation of Port Alberni and Alberni in November 1967, the Alberni Firehall, vehicles and equipment were rolled in with those of Port Alberni. The Alberni Firehall was then called the "North Port Alberni Hall" and was kept functional for a one year interval. The former Alberni Fire Fighters continued to man the two former Alberni fire trucks and were called out by the staff in the new Port Alberni Firehall. During the next year or so it became apparent that the paid staff on duty in the new South Port Alberni Firehall could respond quicker to any call, due to being on hand when the call first came in.

Therefore, after this year's experience, the Alberni Firehall was closed down and the equipment and vehicles were moved to the new South Port Alberni Firehall.

During 1969, Kelly Douglas Limited bought a large block of property from the City with the intent of building a new super market complete with some associated stores. The property bought included the lot on which stood the closed Firehall. Thus the Firehall was torn down in late 1969 and the Super Valu supermarket plaza was built on the site.

Dismantling the old Alberni Fire Hall.