History of Princeton Area Volunteer Fire Department from 1880 - 1969
FEBRUARY 11, 1880
A mass meeting of the citizens of Princeton was held at the courthouse hall on Monday evening, to devise a means for protection against fire. The meeting had very little response, according to the Princeton Union: “The fire meeting, called for Monday night proved to be a fizzle. By and by, there may be a fire that will prove to be a stern reality.”
AUGUST 5, 1880
Elk River to have a fire company! There should be some sort of a fire organization in Princeton. If the wind was blowing from the north or south and a fire were to break out in the end from which the wind was blowing, at present, what is there to prevent the business portion of the town from being reduced to ashes?
MAY 19, 1881
The chemical Babcock fire extinguisher was satisfactorily tested on Saturday evening in the presence of a large crowd of spectators. Although not a few found fault with the machine, the village council were satisfied with it and paid the agent $900 down, the balance of $700 to be paid by easy installments.
MAY 26, 1881
There is no sense in decrying the merits of the new Babcock extinguisher recently purchased by the village. It cannot perform miracles; neither can the best steam engine that ever was invented. Thousands of these fire extinguishers are in use and have done and are doing good services all over the country. Of course a steam fire engine would have been better, but that was out of the question; and even a steam fire engine is often powerless to stop the ravages of the flames after the fire has had a good start. We believe the village council has done the best thing they could under the circumstances.
APRIL 13, 1882
The members of the engine company are not as well disciplined as they might be: however, all the boys did excellent work at the fire across the river, Tuesday.
JUNE 4, 1885
Some sort of an organized fire department is badly needed in Princeton. A score or so of trained men working under the directions of a competent chief can render more service at a fire than a whole street full of undisciplined individuals working at random.
AUGUST 25, 1887
The village has purchased a brand new two-wheeled chemical fire extinguisher at a cost of $900. It is of the latest improved pattern, and four men can handle it with ease. Taken in connection with the double cylinder Champion extinguisher, which cost the village $2,300, Princeton, for a small place, is well protected with fire apparatus. A splendid new water tank, with a capacity of 20 barrels, has also been provided. The tank was manufactured at Wm. Cordiner’s shops by Mr. A.J. Bullis, and it is a dandy. The engines are always charged and ready to use, and the tanks are kept full of water and mounted on substantial wagons.
SEPTEMBER 1 – 2, 1894
This fire is better known as the Hinckley Fire. It started in the Greenbush – Milo area, south of Foreston and Milaca, and in hours a hurricane type wind from the south and west spread the flames across the country.
The fire jumped the Rum and for a while engulfed Foreston and Milaca. It miraculously missed these towns. The people fought bravely and the flames went around the outskirts.
The fire went north and east across Mille Lacs, Kanabec and Pine Countries. Mille Lacs County lost 400 people to the fire. The fire fiercely reached beyond Hinckley where 200 people died. If the winds would have been from the northwest on that fateful day, Princeton, Baldwin and many area townships would have faced this tragedy.
Times, Milaca – September 14, 1905
AUGUST 8, 1895
ANOTHER DANCE: The firemen will put on a dance at the pavilion Friday evening. A general invitation is extended to the people of Princeton and surrounding country to attend. The present management is bound that good order will be maintained and a good time is guaranteed. Ladies, are in particular, invited to come and enjoy the evening and give the fire boys encouragement as an organization. A good fire company has been badly needed in Princeton and now that the boys generously volunteer their services, day or night, to fight the fiery fiend the people of the village should take great interest in lending them a helping hand.
DECEMBER 15, 1898
The fire department would do better work if it resolved itself into snowball brigade during the winter months. It might hit the fire with a little moisture then if it tried real hard.
APRIL 24, 1902
FIRE DEPARTMENT DISBANDS: The Princeton fire department has disbanded and the village is at the present time without any organized department. At the last meeting Chief Spaulding tendered his resignation, and on motion of one of the members, it was decided to disband. It is to be regretted that the boys could not hang together. Chief Spaulding complained that there was not enough interest taken by many of the members in the work and efficiency of the department, and then it is claimed there are other matters that have tended to make the boys feel as if their work was not appreciated. They were criticized for some things done at the recent fire when the Howard hay was burned.
JANUARY 21, 1904
The council was about to adjourn when Mr. Caley suggested that the council should take some action regarding a fire department, as at present the village was practically without any fire protection of any kind. President Cooney remarked that he thought the village needed one, and there was no question with any of the members of the council but what a fire department was needed.
Dan Spaulding who was present refreshed the memory of the council on good old times when Princeton did have a volunteer fire department and he told of some of the good work it did. He told how the work of the boys was not appreciated and made reference to the time when the village council refused to allow a bill for hauling the hook and ladder to a fire. This peanut action made the boys very tired. They paid the bill and disbanded, and there has been an effort made to reorganize but without success.
NOVEMBER 17, 1904
On Thanksgiving Day the fireman's dance will occur at Jesmer’s Opera House. This will be the first dance given by the reorganized fire department and it will no doubt be well patronized.
MARCH 30, 1905
The village council met last Monday, a little out of the ordinary schedule, but the council had not met for some time, and there was perhaps a call for some past due claims against the village.
The council disposed of several matters. It voted to appropriate the sum of $250 on the village road leading to the new bridge in the south part of town, and allowed $45 to the fire department for attending fires. The department brought in a claim for a much larger amount, but it was stated that many of the fires which had been charged up in the bill had occurred before the council had voted to allow the fire department $10 for each fire.
MARCH 24, 1913
FIREMEN’S ANNUAL BALL: The Princeton Fire Department’s ball at Brand’s Opera house on Monday night was the event of the season in things terpsichorean. The patronage was extensive and enjoyment reigned supreme until the rays of old Sol gave notice that another day had burst forth. In every detail the dance was a success, the music by Marshall’s orchestra being especially good, and the fire ladies were certainly entitled to the large patronage.
Princeton has one of the best volunteer fire departments in the state – well organized and well equipped – and every member does his duty. The boys respond readily to the fire alarm, and through their efforts thousands of dollars’ worth of property has been saved. They are entitled to credit for their good work and it goes without saying that it is fully appreciated by the residents of this village. The amount received from the sale of tickets and donations aggregated $128.
MARCH 30, 1914
FIREMEN’S ANNUAL BALL: The Princeton fire ladies will give a grand ball at the armory on the evening of Easter Monday. This will be the annual ball of the organization and three prizes --- for the best waltz, two-step and tango --- will be awarded. Potter’s five-piece orchestra will furnish the music. The hall will be appropriately decorated for the occasion and ice cream and soft drinks served. A liberal patronage should be accorded the boys.
APRIL 9, 1914
Fire Chief Davis appeared before the council and stated that no satisfactory settlement had so far been arrived at with the Plant Rubber Company, which furnished defective hose to the department and then claimed that it was acid-eaten --- that it had come into contact with acid after it had left the company hands. The matter was laid over until the next meeting, the recorder, in the meantime, to look up the contract with the company.
JANUARY 18, 1923
SEVEN FIRE CALLS: At the recent monthly meeting of the fire department the reports show that during 1922 the department was called out to seven fires, all of which were extinguished without any serious loss except the Howard residence recently destroyed. This fire had gained such headway and was located at such a distance from headquarters as to cause an extra long run so there was little hope of saving the house after the flames got as good a start as they did. The present fire equipment is far from being adequate but until such time as a new motor fire truck is purchased the old horse rigs will have to do the business.
Talking about the horse, reminds us of what Fire Chief Claude A. Smith said last week, and that was relative to the outsiders --- not members of the department --- hitching up the fire team before the proper drivers and members, who have charge of the equipment, get a chance to handle their duties. He said that this method usually resulted in delay at the fire as it was found that the horses were not hooked up rightly and other equipment misplaced so that the members were placed at some handicap. And further, that those not members should not burden the horses and tax the rigs by riding to the fire on the fire department equipment. He and the members fully appreciate the good will and efforts of the citizens in its work and will always welcome this assistance, but would prefer that the members in charge of the horses and equipment be given the first opportunity to handle these duties required.
MARCH 18, 1924
FIREMEN PRESENT CHIEF WITH HANDSOME ROCKER: The firemen met at the home of their chief, Clair Smith, and presented him with a handsome leather rocker. The party was a complete surprise to Mr. Smith and he was much delighted with the token of esteem presented by the men in the company. An elaborate chicken dinner was served by Mrs. J.C. Herdliska and Mrs. M. McKennon. The greater part of the evening was spent in playing cards.
The members of the village fire company have always been most congenial. Occasionally they have a social gathering at one of the homes or in some hall and these affairs are always marked by a spirit of good fellowship.
JANUARY 23, 1936
VILLAGE FIREMEN ON DUTY AT NIGHT: Members of the Princeton Fire Department displayed a fine spirit of public service Wednesday evening when they made arrangements to keep a shift of six men in that hall all night in order to be there to answer a call promptly if a fire should break out in the village. One group of six men remained until 1:00 a.m. this morning, when they were replaced by a second shift.
OCTOBER 12, 1950
VOTES TO EXTEND SERVICES OF FIRE DEPARTMENT TO NEIGHBORING TOWNSHIPS: Members of the village council at their meeting last Thursday evening voted to enter into a contract with the six neighboring townships to furnish the services of the fire department with the provision that the residents of these townships contribute through their insurance policies a certain amount of money to the Firemen’s Relief Association.
According to a law passed by the legislature, if the village is furnishing the services of its fire department, all insurance companies will pay two per cent of their premiums on their fire policies into the Firemen’s Relief Fund. Money from this fund is used for firemen who are disabled or suffer injuries, or as pension. The contract, of course, would not be binding until it is approved by the townships which the village would be in a position to serve – Princeton, Greenbush, Baldwin, Bogus Brook and Blue Hill.
MARCH 12, 1953
DISCUSS FIRE CONTRACT: Rudolph Lueck explained the proposed contract with the village fire department. The contract provided that the Princeton fire department will respond whenever there is a call from anyone in Princeton township for assistance, providing that both trucks are not tied up by a fire in the village. One truck with three men will be sent out for three hours for $50. If it takes longer than three hours to handle the fire, an additional charge will be made of $25 an hour. The fire department has a truck that carried 600 gallons of water and has 600 pounds of pressure.
It was decided that the townships would pay the fire department and then the individual who calls the fire department would pay the township half of the fee, or in most cases, $25.
SEPTEMBER 3, 1959
FIRE DEPARTMENT PROTECTION PLAN GROWING EACH DAY: The Princeton fire department’s plan for the rural area is growing each day, and at present there are between 350 and 400 farm families enrolled in the program.
At the monthly meeting of the fire department on Tuesday evening a committee was appointed to get prices on a tanker to be sent with the fire truck on calls outside the village.
The Princeton fire department services parts of 14 townships, and is in a position to give protection to all rural families in the area who have Princeton telephones. There appears to be some confusion in this respect among residents of Bogus Brook and Milo township, and Princeton firemen wish to advise them that they are most welcome to join the protection program afforded here.
LARGE FIRES IN PRINCETON AREA
FIRE IN THE BANK BUILDING
About 6 pm Saturday evening, March 18, 1882, it was discovered that the roof of the Citizen’s State Bank was on fire. A rush was made for the engine house and in less than five minutes, but the aid of a team of horses, the Babcock Extinguisher was on the ground. There was considerable excitement for a few seconds but the cylinders were speedily reversed and one hose was conveyed inside the building while the other hose was carried to the roof and brought to play on the blazing shingles.
The Babcock Extinguisher is all that its friends claimed it to be --- a boss fire extinguisher.
PRINCETON’S BIG BLAZE
Fire broke out in Mahoney’s Saloon, on Main Street, at 3:30 am, Sunday, May 24, 1885, and, before the citizens could be aroused, the fire had made such a headway that all hopes of saving the building or fixtures were beyond question, and attention was turned to the large building owned by Mr. Sadley and occupied by B.M. VanAlstein as a general retail store. Some delay in getting the chemical engine to work gave the fire fiend the advantage and the building was soon enveloped by the raging element. The wind arose and seemed in its most fitful mood, whirling huge fire balls high in the air and dropping them upon the court house, skating rink, livery stable, and many other buildings, which, in their dry condition, readily ignited and only by the constant use of the engine, and most persistent efforts of the people, were saved from being swallowed up in flames. The courthouse was on fire several times, as was also the Monmoth skating rink, engine house and livery stable.
BUSINESS BLOCK IS LAID IN WASTE
The worst fire in the history of Princeton occurred last Thursday, August 3, 1893, about 11:30 pm when flames were discovered issuing from the rear of Mc Cuaig’s drug store; a few minutes later an explosion followed and fire shot out of the front of the store. Before either of the chemical engines could be brought into play the entire building was wrapped in flames. In a comparatively short space of time fire was communicated to the Brady building on the north and the Carew block on the south, while the roof of the North Star Hotel barn was blazing in half a dozen places. The Brayton building, immediately north of Brady’s block, was speedily engulfed by the flames and the brick walls of the First National Bank proved only a flimsy barrier to the onward march of the fiery fiend. A desperate effort was made to save the North Star Hotel, but an immense pile of wood in the rear of the hotel had caught from the barns and the heat was so intense that the firefighters could not protect the rear of the hotel. The hotel burned slowly from the rear and upper stories, and the cupola was about the first portion of the building to succumb. In the meantime scores of men were laboring hard to prevent the fire from crossing First street on the south and Main street on the west, and owing to the stillness of the night their efforts were crowned with success. Had Caley’s immense warerooms caught fire the entire business portion of the town south of First street would have been doomed to destruction, and had the fire crossed Main street the business portion of the town north of First street would have been wiped out of existence.
FIRE NOTES: The boys worked well but the lack of an organized fire department was plainly apparent. The chemical engines are all right before a fire gains a good headway then, they are almost useless.
Let us have proposals from contractors for a system of water works, let us figure out the cost and see what can be done.
The bank vault was opened Tuesday and the contents were all right, save that some of the books and papers were badly smoked.
The fire leaves quite a gap in Main street, but ere another year rolls around the burned buildings will be replaced by handsome solid brick structures.
One good result of the fire is the establishment of fire limits. No more wooden structures will be permitted in the business part of the village, ordinance no. 55.
BIG BUSINEES BLOCK BURNS
JESMER’S OPERA HOUSE: On Saturday morning, February 2, 1907, at about 1:30 a fire was discovered issuing from the cupola of the Jesmer Opera House and an alarm was immediately turned in. How long the fire had been burning or the cause of its origin is impossible to determine, but it is believed that it started between the ceiling and roof near the main chimney. At the time of the fire a strong wind was blowing and it was therefore impossible for the fire department to check the flames. With great rapidity the fire spread and consumed the whole building, the most capacious mercantile establishment in town. L.G. Prescott also conducted a jewelry business in the store. Some of the goods in his emporium were saved, but it was impossible to remove a very large amount in consequence of the fierce heat.
N.E. Jesmer’s block was one of the costliest in the county. It was constructed in a very substantial manner and had heavy firewalls. Had it not been for this protection it is safe to say that many other buildings would have been wiped out?
SALOON DESTROYED
Early Friday morning, January 25, 1907, the saloon on Depot street bearing the name of “Gold Mine” and conducted by Sjoblom & Olson, was, with its contents, almost totally destroyed by fire.
It appears that at 2:30 am G.A. Eaton, who lives over the Security State Bank, was awakened by a bright light shining through the windows of his residence. Mr. Eaton lost no time in getting out of bed to investigate and then discovered that the back part of the building mentioned was ablaze. Dressing as quickly as possible he rushed into the street and gave the alarm. The building being of frame construction it took the flames but a short time to gain considerable headway, and when the fire department arrived, although it responded quickly to call, the rear end of the structure was being rapidly consumed. Despite the determined efforts of the department it was found impossible to extinguish the flames until the building and most of its contents had been reduced to ashes.
HIGH SCHOOL BURNS
One of the most destructive fires in Princeton history occurred on Wednesday morning, August 28, 1918, between 1 and 2 o’clock and resulted in virtually reducing the high school building to ruins --- at least but a blackened skeleton of the structure remains to tell the tale. Intermittent electrical storms prevailed throughout the night, and the destruction of the building is due to a shaft of lightning which struck the cupola on the east and shot under the roof of the main structure to the west.
The fire department responded readily to an alarm and when the boys arrived it was at first thought the fire was confined to the cupola, but a blaze shortly broke through the roof on the west side and a volume of fire rolled forth which plainly showed that the lightning had also ignited that part of the building. Every effort was put forth by the fire laddies to subdue the flames, but despite their activation the interior of the building soon became a veritable furnace. Tongues of fire shot fifty feet into the air and crackling timbers and flooring crashed to the basement. The popping fire fiend and the wall on the west side that the fire was impossible of extinguishment so that the only thing which could be done was to permit the destroyer to pursue its willful course and prevent it from carrying destruction to buildings in the vicinity. Fortunately no wind prevailed and this was the salvation of other structure.
FIRE IN ODEGARD POTATO WAREHOUSE
About 1:30 Monday afternoon, September 31, 1946, a fire broke out in the Odegard potato warehouse, east of the railroad tracks and south of the municipal light plant.
George Young, foreman of the warehouse, first discovered the fire when he saw smoke pouring out from under the eves. An alarm was sent in and the fire department did effective work although the men were up against a rather difficult proposition because the fire was running along the rafters under the insulation in the roof. The fire ran the entire length of the building which is 50’ x 65’. Some of the rafters were still smoldering at 5 o’clock in the afternoon.
HENCHEN FAIRWAY FIRE
Princeton Volunteer Firemen battled a stubborn blaze last Thursday evening, April 1, 1967, that created an estimated $25,000 damages to the Henchen Fairway Store.
The fire alarm was sounded about 7:30 p.m. and the fire department’s three firefighting rigs and the entire complement of men responded to the call. Their efforts to seek the source of the blaze was hampered by a thick, black smoke which had filled the interior of the store.
The cause of the fire was a faulty chimney in the smoke house.
FINGERHUT FACTORY BURNS
Princeton’s biggest industry burned to the ground Friday after, July 29, 1960. The Fingerhut factory --- where thousands of automobile seat covers were manufactured each month --- was a charred and blackened mass of virtual junk following the fire which swept through the huge one-story building that covered almost a full city block.
Flames broke out in the northwest section of the building about 3:30 p.m., while welders were working in an area jammed with plastic seat covers.
Fire fighting equipment in the plant was used on the flames and the Princeton Volunteer Fire Department was called. The fire spread however, and help from the Cambridge and Milaca Fire Departments was of little effect.
Flames ripped through the building and huge clouds of black smoke poured into skies that could be seen for fifty miles. A series of small explosions could be heard in the plant.
Over 200 workers were busy in the factory at the time the fire broke out, but an orderly evacuation of the building got everyone out safely.
One man, Donald Hanna, Fingerhut’s traffic manager, was overcome by smoke as he tried to back a truck tractor into the loading dock to pull out a semi trailer loaded with seat covers.
For a while, firemen were concerned that the flames would spread to another large building connected to the main factory by a covered passageway, but the fire was pretty well under control by 6 p.m. and the adjoining building was spared.
(From: 1881 – 1969. A Complete History of the Princeton Volunteer Fire Department, Princeton, Minn.)