Chapter 2 - DEPLOYMENT OF MANPOWER AND EQUIPMENT

How long does it take for an object to become an antique or an event history? Webster's defines an antique as belonging to, or typical of, an earlier period, and history as an interesting past. The first structure erected for the department was Station 1 located on or near Milan Way. This complex served as Fire Department headquarters, a two company firehouse, and the training center. A three story wood frame drill tower was also located here. Many interesting stories have been told concerning the activities around the drill tower. New recruits were required to demonstrate confidence in their brother firefighters by jumping from the third story landing into a canvas life net that was held by them. Another training evolution was named the church raise. It consisted of raising a thirty-six foot sectional wooden ladder vertically and supporting it with four ropes held by four fellow firefighters. You were required to climb the ladder and cross over the top and climb back down the other side. This convinced many that driving nails and sawing boards might be a safer vocation. Off to the construction crews they traveled.

The next building constructed for the Fire Department was located on the corner of Tenn. Ave. and Kentucky Ave. This area is known as Jackson Square. The building remains today. It was purchased from the city years later by Ron Horn, the owner of Samuel's, a men's wear shop located in the square. The firehouse was located on the south end of the building fronting on Tenn. Ave. It was separated from the remainder of the building by a fire wall. The remainder of the building fronts on Kentucky Ave. It houses a bank and other smaller office concessions. This building was designated as Fire Station No. 2. This area was considered to be the central location of the city when the building was completed. Although the training center remained at the old location the fire suppression companies moved to Station 2. Located in this house was Fire Dept. headquarters, Pumper Company No. 1 and No. 2, the Squad/Rescue truck and the Deputy Chief. Co. 1 was a 750 g.p.m. American LaFrance pumper with a manpower strength of seven. Co. 2 consisted of seven men aboard a 750 g.p.m. Peter Pirsch pumper. The squad truck was a customized pick-up truck designed to carry a small load of 1 " hose to be used for discharge lines, hand ladders, chemical hose and life net, 4 large CO2 cylinders attached to the rear of the cab that could be removed to be refilled and a large assortment of tools and equipment to be used for rescue operations. As most of you older guys remember, the firefighters rode the tailboard of the truck and swung from the metal rail which was about chin level on an average man. The firefighter (hydrant man) assigned to attach the hose to the fire hydrant left the tailboard of a slowly moving fire engine with a heavy brass hydrant wrench in one hand and two folds of 2 " double jacketed rubber lined cotton fire hose with heavy brass couplings in the other hand. He advanced (providing he did not fall flat on his face or be dragged down the street by the fire engine when the hose hung in the hose compartment) to the fire hydrant to make the hook-up. The firefighters remaining on the tailboard had to either crouch and duck or swing around to the side of the hose compartment to avoid being struck by the heavy metal couplings as they came flying out the rear of the hose compartment.

Also located at Station 2 was FD Headquarters. This was the office of the Chief and Assistant Chief, and the on-duty Deputy Chief, the office of the Inspection Bureau which consisted of an Assistant Chief Inspector and 3 female and 2 male inspectors. The female inspectors were assigned the duties of inspecting the women dormitories. Also Located in the station house was a supply and equipment room. The FD Dispatchers worked out of Station 2 for a brief period.

A number of other eight hour employees working out of Headquarters was one man assigned to Gamewell Alarm system maintenance, one man assigned to uniform and supply distribution, one man in charge of equipment maintenance, one man responsible for extinguishers and two secretaries, one each assigned to the chief officers.

As the city grew, so did the Fire Dept. Remember the Federal Government planned the city, the Dept. of the Army supervised the construction, and civilian contractors carried out the construction. So the city took on the appearance of a military base. Jackson Square was the center of the old city. Just across Oak Ridge Turnpike stood the massive wood frame A.E.C. Administration Building, sometimes called the Castle on the Hill. It was torn down years later to be replaced by the three story masonry Federal Building which presently stands near the same location. The city was divided into small divisions, each containing a neighborhood shopping center and school. These shopping centers each had its own firehouse located n one end of the structure and protected by a fire wall. At the peak of city's growth there was ten firehouse locations housing six truck companies with a 750 G.P.M. pumper and ten smaller trucks equipped with front mounted direct drive pumps. The larger trucks carried a full complement of hose, wooden extension ladders and related equipment. Each was manned by a seven man company. The smaller trucks carried a smaller load of 1 " hose and tools and equipment for fighting open fires. These trucks were manned by either five or three men companies. The smaller trucks were customized heavy duty pick- ups coming to the city from the factory. The larger trucks were previously used coming from other federal installations. The smaller companies responded with the big boys to provide manpower and sometimes traveled to the other stations to back them up on alarm response to the larger buildings. In the earlier days you made a hydrant hook-up and laid lines on every alarm to commercial buildings, schools, dormitories, etc.

One amusing story relates that a truck was responding to Jackson Square from the East Village firehouse during a blinding rainstorm. The operator slowed down as he approached the intersection of Florida Ave. and Tenn. Ave. One of the men riding the tailboard, thinking they had arrived at the scene, jumped from the truck with the hose and hydrant wrench to make a forward lay hydrant connect. The truck speeded up proceeding down Tenn. Ave. toward Jackson Square. You can imagine the surprised look on the Captains face when he gave the order to lay a feeder and one of the tailboard grunts replied, "Sir, we don't have any hose." One thousand feet of 2 " double jacketed cotton rubber lined hose was laid out on a rain drenched section of Tenn. Ave. somewhere between Jackson Square and Fla. Ave. This old boy was unable to report for duty the next shift. He called in to request a sick day.

1	Co. No. 4 East Village Shopping Cen. Anna Rd.
2	Co. No. 12 Ogden Cir. Shopping Cen. Ogden Cir.
3	Co. No. 7 Elm Grove Shopping Cen. Tenn. Ave.
4	Cos. 1 & 2 Jackson Square Tenn. Ave. at Ken. Ave.
5	Co. No. 11 Pine Valley Shopping Cen. New York Ave.
6	Cos. 9 & 10 Grove Center Robertsville Rd.
7	Cos. 5 & 6 Jefferson Shopping Cen. Jefferson Ave.
8	Co. No. 3 Scarboro - Gamble Valley Carver Ave.
9	1 company Near K-25 On or near Blair Rd.
10	1 company Near K-25 On or near Blair Rd.
11	Squad Jackson Square Tenn. Ave. at Kentucky Ave.

At this time the Fire Dept. employed approximately two hundred people working on a two shift schedule. There were thirteen Kelly days allotted to each man annually. It was never really determined whether this constituted a 72 or 96 hr. workweek. Without the Kelly days it definitely would have been a 96 hour work week. You were either reporting for duty or returning home every morning at 8:00 A.M.

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