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The 1900's |
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The 1900's History of EMS |
The Call
Fireman System In February of 1930, the Call Fireman
System was instituted. There was a roster of
approximately 20 men who were called when fires occurred.
Some of these men were "Sleepers" and would
work the night shift on weekends. The men were summoned to the Fire Station via a large "Bull Horn" mounted in the hose tower at the Wallace Hose Company at 9 South Cherry Street. The men were paid $80 per year in 1930 and $183 in 1971 when Mayor Joseph Carini ordered Chief Ralph Habersang to abolish the Call Man System. Regular Firemen During the mid-1930s and early 1940s, the Community of Wallingford began to emerge from the influence of its rural environment to become more suburban in character. Workers seeking employment were relocating into cities and towns as defense work was geared toward security measures, as it was evident that our country would be involved in a war in Europe. These changing times dictated that Chief James A. Downey had to create the position of Paid Driver in 1937. James A. Downey, Stanley Zesk, Henry Lanouette and Ben O'Connell were put on the roster. |
Early 1900's photo of land were the current fire headquarters would be built in the 70's.
Edward Ennever in late 1920's Chief Downey brought closure to his 50 years of service in 1939 by convincing the Court of Burgess to hire six more men and create a paid fire department. At that time, they were known as "Regular" Firemen. The original members of the Regular Department were John Czine, James Kenny, Charles Bercier, Edward Kowalski, August Shipke, Stanley Zesk, Henry Bronsord, Ben O'Connell, John C. Luby and James Downey. These hardy men worked 84- hour weeks. They would work seven day shifts followed by seven night shifts. In order to get a day off; they would work 24 hours on Sunday. In addition, they were on 24-hours a day call for fires and other emergencies. A new American LaFrance Pumper was in service at Wallace Hose Co. and John Czine became the first Chief of the Regular Department. |
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