OLD ENGINE 2

Advertisement featuring Springfield Fire Chief Sam Hunter and Engine 2's crew at old Fire Station No. 2, which was closed during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

CHIEF HUFFMAN

Harry Huffman was promoted to platoon chief on Jan. 1, 1947. He was appointed to the fire division in 1928 and retired on April 1, 1949.

At the time, the fire division fielded two platoon chiefs, who acted as shift commanders. In the overall chain of command, they answered to the fire chief and the assistant fire chief.

 According to a newspaper article on his retirement, Huffman's pension paid $155 a month or half his regular pay. Huffman was promoted to lieutenant in July 1935 and captain in August 1938.

This photo was provided by the chief's family.

His father and brother were also Springfield firefighters.

OLD ENGINE HOUSE 5

Photo: Cindy Funk via Flickr

Old Fire Station No. 5 on West Main Street, Springfield, Ohio. It housed Engine 5 which was relocated to a new station after the old firehouse closed in 1981.

COAL FIRE - 1917

The Springfield Tire Fire always burns in the hometown of "The Simpsons" television series. In 1917, a coal fire smoldered for weeks in Springfield, Ohio. "Springfield firemen resorted to the use of steam shovels to help fight fire in a 100,000 ton coal pile in the Big Four railroad yards, burning since Aug. 1," according to the Mahoning Dispatch of Canfield, Ohio, on Sept. 14, 1917. 

FIRE STATIONS - 1907

Fire Chief — Samuel F. Hunter.

Superintendent of Telegraph — Michael M. Duffy.

Central Steam Fire Company No. 1 — West side of South Fountain Avenue, between Jefferson and Washing ton; H. M. Rankin, captain.

Engine Company No. 2 — East side of North Factory Street, between Columbia and North; C. M. Moffett, captain.

Engine Company No. 4 — Lagonda Avenue, between C, C, C. & St. L. Railroad and Florence; J. Edward Bryant, captain.

Engine Company No. 6 — Southeast corner Mound and Glenn Avenue; E. J. Perkins, captain.

Chemical Engine Company — West side of South Yellow Springs, between Pleasant and Dibert Avenue; William Fanning, captain.

Hook and Ladder Company No. 1 — West side of South Fountain Avenue, between Jefferson and Washington.

Hook and Ladder Company No. 3 — Northwest corner Clifton and Boler; H. T. Evans, captain.

Southern Steam Fire Company No. 3 — Northwest corner Clifton and Boler ; H. T. Evans, captain.

Hose Company No. 4 — East side Lagonda Avenue, between C, C, C. & St. L. Railroad and Florence.

Hose Company No. 5 — South side Main, near Park ; L. L. Metcalf , captain.

Hose Company No. 6 — Southeast corner Mound and Glenn; E. J. Perkins, captain.

Hose Company No. 7 — South side Cecil, between Fountain Avenue and Limestone; Pat H. Lawler, captain.

Hose Company No. 8 — West side South Yellow Springs, between Pleasant and Dibert Avenue; William Fanning, captain.

SOURCE: 20th Century History of Springfield , and Clark County, Ohio and Representative Citizens. Edited and compiled by Hon. William M. Rockel, Springfield, Ohio - 1908.

TWO PLATOONS

On May 1, 1920, Springfield switched to a two-platoon system from continuous duty, placing firefighters "on duty twenty-four hours and off the same length of time — subject to emergency calls at all times," according to a 1922 history of the city by Benjamin Prince.

"The chief is continuously on duty; his entire time is given to the city, and all firemen sleep with their ears attuned to telephone calls, responding as quickly at night as to day time alarms," according to Prince's book.

 "Under the two-platoon system firemen have home privileges impossible under previous conditions ; they have opportunity of knowing their families and sharing in home pleasures appreciated by all of them."

Today, the Fire Division employs a three-platoon system.

GOOD SAMARITANS - 2007 & 2009

Good Samaritans to the rescue! A neighbor fetched a ladder and saved three people from an apartment fire at 6631 Rita Drive in Enon, Ohio, on Oct. 25, 2007, WHIO-TV reported. Meantime, on Sept. 4, 2009, a passing motorist set up a ladder to save Jonna Buckner from a house fire at 1428 Clifton Ave. in Springfield - and drove off in his truck before she could say thank you, according to the Springfield News-Sun.

HAMMA SEMINARY - 1900

On Dec. 28, 1900, fire destroyed Hamma Divinity Hall, a seminary, and low water pressure delayed the firefighters' assault on the flames.

According to an article in the next day's Times newspaper in Washington, D.C., firefighters rescued three students.

All the others were at home for the holidays. The blaze started in a furnace "and by the time the students noticed it the chapel on the first floor was in a blaze," the Times newpaper said. "Efforts to put it out with buckets were fruitless, as the smoke was suffocating."

Underscoring the rapid spread of the flames, the newspaper said Oliver McWilliams, of Montgomery, Pennsylvania, "tried to get out of his room, but was forced back by the smoke."

John Sweeter, of Curlsville, Pennsylvania, "was rescued from a second-story window."

C.A. Hackenburg, of Pittsburgh, "escaped by crawling out on the rear part, where the firemen took him down."

The seminary - located on the grounds of Wittenberg University, then called Wittenberg College - was rebuilt in 1901.

MYERS HALL - 1902

Springfield firefighters saved Myers Hall at Wittenberg University from a prank gone awry in the early 20th Century, according to the Spring 2001 edition of Wittenberg Magazine.

 The late Rev. Willard Hackenberg, Class of 1901, recalled that two students set fire to coal bins at the rear of the dorm:

 “What a fire that was! Think of the many tons of coal that were burned. ... The Springfield Fire Department came with great force, but because the water pressure was so low, all the firemen could do was protect the dorm.

"They had to allow the coal and the bins to burn, using all the water on hand to keep the very hot flames from reaching the most important building.” The article didn't mention the date of the fire.

JEFFERSON SCHOOL - 1928

Jefferson School was destroyed by fire in 1928. It was located McCreight and Garfield. The Trump-Littleton Insurance Agency employed a photographer to document major fires in the City of Springfield as an advertising tool.

RUNS & WORKERS - PART 3

- On Jan. 8, 1968, a freight train derailed in Snyderville - six miles west of Springfield - and set a family's home ablaze, according to the Associated Press. The accident killed Jason Williams, 47, and injured his wife and three children. Brenda Williams, 17, was credit with saving her younger sister and brother, according to neighbors. A neighbor pulled Jason Williams and wife, Frances, 40, from the flames, according to the AP dispatch. READ MORE

- A search of Google's newspaper archives turned up a brief wire dispatch in The Age, an Australian daily from Nov. 13, 1961. It read:``Three children perished last night when fire swept through their third-floor flat in Springfield, Ohio. Their mother, with her six-month-old son, was visiting friends in a second-floor flat at the time. Firemen found the woman, Mrs. Elisa Duheart, screaming at the door to her blazing flat, attempting in vain to batter it down to rescue her children.''

- On Sept. 7, 1956, an explosion caused the collapse of a new addition to the Donnelsville School, near Springfield, according to the Associated Press. Emma Blackburn, 62, a teacher, suffered rib and wrist fractures. The explosion happened about an hour after school was dismissed for the day, the AP reported. The addition opened four days earlier.

- On Jan. 11, 1976, flames engulfed a house near Springfield, killing an elderly man and his two sisters, according to United Press International. Fire crews located the bodies of John Shaw, 80, Nattie Shaw, 74 and Ruth Shaw, 59 in the debris, according to Hustead fire officials quoted by UPI.

They called it ``America's long hot summer.'' In July 1967, rioting in Detroit led to disturbances in other cities. ``Springfield, Ohio, reported its first racial incidents, with rock throwing and tossing of fire bombs,'' according to the Free-Lance Star of Fredericksburg, Virginia on July 28, 1967. Trouble was also reported in the Ohio cities of Toldeo and Lorain.

- SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (UPI) - Firemen say four children playing with matches behind the Lynn Hockenson Co. here accidentally touched off a three alarm fire that swept through the cardboard box producing plant, causing an estimated $40,000 damage. [The Bryan Times, Bryan, Ohio, April 12, 1971]

CHILD CALLS 911

On May 2, 1990, a three-year-old boy named Tyler Wolf dialed 911 after his mother fell unconscious in their home at 817 East McCreight Avenue in Springfield, Ohio.

"He knows that he helped mommy and he called the squad for mommy," said his mother, Lori Wolf, who was quoted by The Dayton Daily News. "We're very proud of him."

The boy's father - employed by a private ambulance company - was at work. The parents taught Tyler how to dial 911.

Following is a transcript - from Dayton Daily News archives - of Tyler, fire dispatchers Rick Williams and David Storer, and police dispatcher Ann Eubanks:

WILLIAMS: "What's wrong, son?"
TYLER: "Mommy fall."
WILLIAMS: "Did mommy fall down?"
TYLER: "Yeah."
WILLIAMS: "What's your name?"
EUBANKS: "Is it Tyler?"
TYLER: "Yeah."
EUBANKS: "How old are you?"
TYLER: "Three."
EUBANKS: "And your mommy's right there and she fell down?"
TYLER: "Yeah."
WILLIAMS: "Is his daddy there?"
TYLER: "No. At work."
WILLIAMS: "Did his mom ask him to call?"
WILLIAMS: "Tyler, you stay here on the phone, OK?"
(IN THE BACKGROUND: Williams then asks fellow fire dispatcher Storer to pick up the call while he sends an engine and emergency squad to the home.)
STORER: "Hi, Tyler. How are you?
WILLIAMS: "Tyler, go ahead and talk to this man for a minute, OK?"
TYLER: "Hi."
STORER: "Hi. We're going to send the emergency squad and an engine out there, and they'll talk to you and take care of your situation, OK?"
TYLER: "No. My dad not going to be here."
STORER: "Why isn't he?"
TYLER: "Because he's working 24."
STORER: "Just your mother's there?"
TYLER: "Yeah. (Unintelligible)."
STORER: "Tyler, stay here on the phone, OK? We want to keep talking to you. How old are you, Tyler? What are you, about seven?"
TYLER: "Mommy! Mommy!"
STORER: "Is your front door unlocked so that the firemen can come in?"
TYLER: "Yeah. No. It's locked."
STORER: "Do you know how to unlock it so that the firemen can help your mom?"
TYLER: "Yeah."
STORER: "OK, because the firemen are on their way up there, OK?"
TYLER: "Mommy! Mommy! Bye."
STORER: "Don't hang up now."
WILLIAMS comes back on the line and says, "Hey, Tyler. What's your mommy doing now?"
TYLER: "Laying down."
WILLIAMS: "Did she hurt her head or something? Did she bump her head?"
TYLER: "No."
STORER comes back on the line and asks, "Are her eyes closed?"
TYLER: "Yeah."
STORER: "OK. We're going to need you to unlock the front door for the firemen, OK?"
TYLER: "OK."
WILLIAMS: "Don't do it right now. We'll stay on the phone with you until the firemen get there, OK? They'll be there in just a little bit. It doesn't take them very long."
TYLER: "Can I put the phone on the chair?"
WILLIAMS: "No. Don't put the phone on the chair right now. You just stand there and hold it. Are you standing there holding the phone?"
TYLER: "No. I'm sitting down."
WILLIAMS: "You're sitting down. OK. Is your last name Wolf?"
TYLER: "Yeah."
WILLIAMS: "Where's your dad? Is he at work?"
TYLER: "Yeah. He's working 24 today. His name Barry Wolf."
WILLIAMS: "His name is Barry Wolf and he's working 24? Do you know where he works? Do you know what company he works at?"
TYLER: "He don't work at company no more. He work at Med Trans."
WILLIAMS: "He works at Med Trans. Hey, Tyler. Go over and open the front. I want you to go over and open the front door, then come get back on the phone."
TYLER: "OK."
(IN THE BACKGROUND: There are three knocks on the door. Tyler asks, "Yeah. Who is it?" He unlocks the door after the firefighters identify themselves and ask him to show them where his mother is. One firefighter then picks up the phone.)
FIREFIGHTER: "Hey Rick. You there?"
WILLIAMS: "Yeah."
FIREFIGHTER: "OK, we're here, bud."
WILLIAMS: "Is it real?"
FIREFIGHTER: "Yeah. Bye."

WESTERN SCHOOL - 1954

On Jan. 4, 1954, a general alarm fire swept the 99-year-old Western Grade School at West Main and Yellow Spring streets.

Eight teachers and 275 pupils were safely evacuated by the time firefighters arrived, demonstrating the value of regular fire drills.

The Springfield Daily News reported that when the alarm sounded teachers ``did not know it was a real fire'' and ``headed their charges out of the building before they realized the building was aflame.''

Coincidentally, an earlier school by the same name was destroyed by fire in February 1858.

Four years later, a fire at the Our Lady of Angels School in Chicago claimed about 100 lives, leading to sweeping changes in school fire safety across the nation.

TREMONT CITYLODD - 1963

Willard Dale Ritenour, a member of the Tremont City Fire Department in Clark County, died in the line of duty on Nov. 4, 1963, according to the Ohio Fire Service Honor Roll. Information regarding the incident is scarce as the Tremont City department disbanded. Ritenour was apparently electrocuted while fighting a grass fire. His name is also listed on an honor roll for Miami Valley firefighters who died in the line of duty.

CHITTENDEN HOTEL - 1893

On Nov. 24, 1893, Springfield firefighters provided mutual aid to the City of Columbus for a blaze that consumed the Chittenden Hotel and Henrietta Opera House. ``The fire takes from Columbus her best theater, her best hotel and a number of flourishing business enterprises,'' the Daily Democrat of Hamilton, Ohio, reported the next day.

OX TEAM - 1800s

"In the days of Fire Chief Simpson the Simpson Lumber Company horses were used in emergencies saving the city the expense of so many horses. Mr Simpson operated a lumber yard in a central location and one year when there was epizootic among the horses an ox team was used by the fire department the hose cart was too heavy for man power." - Excerpt from Benjamin F. Prince history book, 1922

OLD STATION 9

Photo: Springfield News-Sun

Old Fire Station No. 9 at17 West State St., Springfield, Ohio, closed Jan. 1, 1975

as part of a reorganization of the fire division. It housed Engine 9, Truck 9. The firefighters and equipment were transferred.