At about noon on April 18, 1894, a young man was sent out to burn garbage behind Henry S. May’s hardware store in the Village of Huntsville. Though the hardware store itself was one of the only fireproof buildings in Huntsville at the time, 50 barrels of coal oil and turpentine behind the building definitely were not. The ensuing inferno destroyed most of the village. There were injuries but, thankfully, all 500 of the villager’s lives were spared. Ironically, two days before the terrible fire, Huntsville’s leaders had decided to purchase a second-hand fire engine. The only other fire-fighting equipment Huntsville had at the time was a set of chemical fire extinguishers.
Unfortunately, on the fateful day of the great fire, the extinguishers were vastly insufficient and the fire engine had not yet been purchased or shipped. Reeve George Hutcheson telegraphed Bracebridge and Gravenhurst for help, but by the time their fire engines finally arrived, the blaze had already been contained by an exhausted bucket brigade.
What would those fatigued and smoke-covered villagers have thought if they were able to peer into the Huntsville Fire Hall 113 years later?
Today, the Huntsville Fire Department has state-of-the-art firefighting equipment and fire engines but also – thanks to the diligence and passion for history of Terry Joiner – a growing collection of firefighting antiques.
Joiner, assistant fire chief, equipment and public education officer, has been collecting the antiques since he joined the Huntsville Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter 27 years ago.
Some of the artifacts were “handed down” within the department itself, Joiner explains. Other items were given to Joiner by retired firefighters and the general public, all people who knew, he says, that the fire items “would be very interesting and important to me.”
Included in his collection, which is prominently and accessibly displayed in the classroom of the fire station, there are even some fire extinguishers similar to the ones Huntsville’s leaders bought over a hundred years ago.
To be able to see and touch these artifacts is a boon to public education in Huntsville. Joiner’s job as public education officer includes speaking with school children, seniors and the public in general about fire safety and fire-fighting technology. Joiner is able to show visitors that “we didn’t always have these shiny new trucks and equipment.”
Joiner’s enthusiasm for fire-fighting history is contagious. With his friendly and generous manner, he enthrals visitors with the antiques — and the stories behind them.
“I love this stuff,” Joiner enthuses. “New technology is great, but I like to see where it comes from, the evolution of it.”
From inside a cardboard box, Joiner carefully extracts a glass instrument shaped like a large light bulb. Inside the glass is a clear liquid. It may look like a decorative ornament, but in the early 1900s, this was the latest technology in fire extinguishing.
But just how did it work? Joner explains that the extinguisher would be suspended from a ceiling or wall and lead — or another easily meltable material — would hold the glass bulb in place. The heat of a fire would cause the soft material to melt and the ball would fall and break, releasing carbon tetrachloride. The chemical could put out a fire by starving the flames of oxygen.
Joiner’s collection also includes hand-pumped extinguishers. Because carbon tetrachloride was found to be harmful to human health, it was banned from use in fire extinguishers in the 1950s.
Today, Joiner reveals, fire extinguishers employ either carbon dioxide or dry chemical to put out fires. In restaurants, the latest fire safety system uses only water and specially-designed sprinklers so that even grease fires can be stifled quickly and cleanly.
Extinguishers have come a long way from the early glass balls suspended from ceilings.
Surprisingly, however, it is not yet a law, only a recommendation, to have fire extinguishers in homes and businesses.
Joiner’s collection also includes a breathing apparatus made of rubber and leather with small glass goggles for vision.
Holding up the antique apparatus, Joiner shakes his head. “All they had was a simple filter. Carcinogens could get through,” he says.
By contrast, the breathing apparatus that Huntsville firefighters currently use don’t allow particulates or carcinogens to pass into the lungs. The apparatus is also easily connected to oxygen tanks. As in the past, however, it is sometimes a struggle to be granted funding for fire-fighting equipment.
The fire department had been requesting funding for new breathing apparatus and fire suits for some time, says Joiner, though they were only granted the money after a severe downtown fire in the late 1980s.
Joiner points to the largest engine in the fire department. “This one’s brand new. We are very fortunate to have been able to purchase this ladder truck.”
The fire engine includes an aerial platform where firefighters can do their job more safely and effectively up to 100 feet in the air. Though some may question the million-dollar expenditure on the truck, Joiner points out that with growth and development of a town comes the need for improved equipment for fire safety.
Recently, a retired firefighter visited Joiner. The man — who actually used equipment like the pieces now in Joiner’s antique collection — stood before the new ladder truck and shook his head in awe. “How things have changed,” he said.
What hasn’t changed is the dedication and passion of firefighters like Joiner who continually inspire the development of safer and more effective means to fight fire.
For information about fire safety, bylaws or to arrange a visit for your school or community group, please contact the Huntsville Fire Department at 789-5201.