Fire Department History

As part of the history of the City of Oconto, the   fire department has a rich and interesting history that reaches back to the early days of the logging settlement.  Unfortunately, many of the official records of the department in its early and middle years were lost.  How those records were lost remains a controversial mystery to this day.  One such rumor suggests that they were destroyed in a fire.  Strange however, is the fact that the fire department does not have a record of a fire involving the property of the fire department or the city hall.  The information provided here is based on recent research primarily through secondhand written accounts and newspaper clippings from the Oconto County Reporter and Green Bay Press Gazette.

 

 

 

 

Fire station located on the corner of Pecor Street and Michigan Avenue.  City Hall was located on the second floor.  Fire Chief Burt Harris appears to be seated far right. 

Timeline

Click Here to see the development of the Oconto Fire Department.

 

 

 

 

Inside the fire station pictured above.  On the wall to the left is a pull station alarm box.  When this station was built in 1891, fifteen pull stations (box alarms) were installed throughout the city.  Firefighters were able to tell which pull station was activated based on the type of ring sounding.  The code for the ring types and the location of the alarm stations are most likely listed in the picture frame adjacent to the alarm box.  The horses were trained to run to their position in front of the wagons whenever the bell sounded and the hitching equipment was dropped onto them from cables suspended from the ceiling.   Pictured from left to right in the photo:  Irving Harris, Charles Phillips, City Clerk B. Mulvaney, Albert Klozotsky, and Fire Chief Burt Harris. 

A Century of Service

The fire department will be celebrating its centennial as a fulltime department in 2010.  In 1910 the city council established the Police and Fire Commission.  Members included John B. Chase, L.W. Brazeau, C.R. Keith, Edward Millidge and C.H. Papenfus.  Bert Harris was appointed as the first Fire Chief and firefighters began serving on a fulltime basis.  Members included Assistant Chief John Follett, William Murray and George Gain, teamsters; Irving Harris, Harry Harris, George P. Riley, William A. Merline, Mortimer J. Morrison, Albert Klozotsky and Charles Prucha, firemen.  (While not proven, this roster may match the faces in the top photo.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another photo of the municipal building at Pecor Street and Michigan Avenue.  Firefighters would ring the large bell to summon additional help for a fire. 

Posing in front of the fire station.  “Old Mike” was a horse the firefighters were very proud of.  Mike served faithfully for 23 years from three and a half years of age in 1907 to 1930 when the city council granted him a pension and he retired to a nearby farm.  Mike slept standing up, and was known to only have laid down four times in his career.  Old Mike was always eager to respond.  He never needed coaxing by the firefighters from the stalls and always made his way to the harness whenever the fire alarm rang.

 

 

 

Possibly Oconto’s first fire truck.   This picture matches a description of the first truck purchased in 1920.  It was described as a combination chemical tank, hook-and-ladder, and hose cart.  Chief Harris is seated in the passenger seat.

 

 

 

Posing with a 1947 American LaFrance Engine at the municipal building on Main Street.  In recent years, this truck served as a reserve unit and was only recently sold on bids in 2006.  Pictured from left to right in the photo:  Fire Chief John Reed, Firefighter Gaylord Fritz, Firefighter Clarence Lade, and Captain Frank Klozotsky.