Jamestown Fire Department

According to the Jamestown Daily Alert (now the Jamestown Sun Newspaper), Jamestown took delivery of a new Hook & Ladder Rig in April of 1881. Prior to that date the fire protection of the city fell to a bucket brigade and a few hand drawn hose carts and at least one chemical cart.

By May 19, 1881, "Rescue # 1" was the name given to the new hook and ladder rig and a company of 24 volunteers made up the "Fire Company" as it was called back then. "The cry also went up at that time to erect a fire house at once, as securing the hook & ladder rig was a step in the right direction for the "Fire Company" now has an incentive to keep them organized and in good order", so states the article in the newspaper of that date.

In mid 1881 the village council elected John Moore as the first Chief of the Jamestown Fire Department and Robert Jordan, Fire Warden (Fire Marshal). The so called fire company became organized and elected a Secretary and a Treasurer. Among the original 24 members was a man named Anton Klaus who became known as the Father of Jamestown.

On November 11, 1881, the Daily Alert states that comments were made at the Village Council Meeting that "if a fire should break out on any of the principle streets of the city, where would the fire department get a sufficient supply of water to fight it? Perhaps the Village Council would volunteer to bring it up from the river in pails." And so it seems that the struggles of the fire service to maintain fire protection have always been a part of city government.

In 1884 the Jamestown Fire Department was finally completely organized and in 1886 the department boasted 2 hand drawn chemical carts, 2 hand drawn hose carts, 2 horse drawn Babcock Hand Engines, and one horse drawn hook & ladder rig. It is not stated if the water supply problem had been solved by this time, although it is known that Jamestown had several artesian wells and several cisterns. The Fire Chief at this time was George Eager.

A page from a report in 1896 by Jamestown Fire Chief A.M. Clough, states that two thirds of the cotton fire hose is in a bad state to repair. He strongly recommends that the Jamestown City Council provide funds to build a fire house so that all of the fire apparatus can be kept under one roof. He further requested that the City maintain a replacement of fire hose and appliances. For some reason this sounds familiar even today.

In 1908, Jamestown erected a new city hall, which included a new fire hall complete with meeting rooms and a kitchen on the second floor. This area eventually became the residence of the fire chief as well.

The Municipal Code for the City of Jamestown shows that the Jamestown Fire Department was reorganized in 1919. City fire ordinances were set forth and a constitution and by-laws were adopted for its volunteers membership. A resolution was also passed that provided money from the general fund to support fire protection in the city.

In 1922, Jamestown purchased its first piece of motorized fire apparatus. It was a 1922 Dodge, 500 GPM pumper, and it saw service from that date until around 1954.

1930 was a devastating year for fire in Jamestown, September 4 & 5 saw 4 major fires in 48 hours. First there was the Klaus Hotel, and then Old Main Dormitory at Jamestown College, the Planning Mill was next, and lastly Tompkins Bar. Then on November 5th the Capitol Hotel structure burned which housed many businesses besides the hotel. By today's value the loss would be close to $8,000,000.

In 1952, after many request to the city council for a ladder truck, Jamestown received a 100-foot ladder rig that was purchased by the State of North Dakota. The state provided the funding for the truck because of the fact that Jamestown provided fire protection to the North Dakota State Hospital. This unit was replaced again by the State in 1984.

In 1958 Past Jamestown Fire Chief Dave Robertson started an underwater rescue and recovery squad originally consisting of 4 or 5 SCUBA divers. This concept was presented to the Illinois State Fire College in 1961 and to the Fire Department Instructors Conference (FDIC) in Memphis 1962. To the best of our knowledge this team was the first fire department related underwater rescue & recovery squad in middle America. This program has kept active since then and now includes divers that are trained for under the ice rescue and recovery operations.

1965 saw the opening of Jamestown's new Main Fire Station. It was also the year that the first full time firefighter were hired. By 1970 a progressive full time fire inspection program was underway and a public fire prevention program was initiated in the public schools. By 1975 there was a trained arson investigator and 2 fire mechanics. Today, the 5 paid staff handle all of these programs.

1978 saw the addition of a south side station, which houses the rescue extrication squad and one engine company.

Today the Jamestown Fire Department consists of 5 full time and 33 volunteer firefighters. This breaks down into a chief officers corps and 4 fire companies. Three of the four companies have a specialty; Company 1 consists of underwater recovery team; Company 2 does Haz-Mat; Company 4 does rescue and extrication; and Company 3 is back up for Companies 2 & 4. Of course, all firefighters are cross-trained except for underwater activities.

The department responds with 3 pumpers, one 95 ft. ladder unit, rescue truck, equipment support and light truck, divers bus, 3 special ops trailers, rescue boat, 3 one-ton pick-up trucks and an 8-passenger van.

One of the newest pieces of fire apparatus is a 1999 1250 GPM Central States Pumper. The department is progressive in that all major apparatus and equipment has been placed in a perpetual replacement program. In 2005 a new equipment support vehicle was purchased to replace a 1971 equipment truck.

In celebration of 120 years of service to Jamestown, in 2000, the volunteer firefighters raised funds to purchase a Thermal Imaging Camera for the city. To date, with Department of Homeland Security grants, the department boasts 3 thermal imaging cameras and a host of hazardous materials equipment.


1908	1933	1949