~ The Fire Brigade ~

It was reported in the minute book of the Dalton Local Board⁵, that at a meeting held on 2 March 1874 it was decided that 'The committee recommend that a Fire Brigade¹ be formed and that the Hydrants be tested at least once a quarter, and that the men be paid 2s. 6d. each time for their services and that Mr. William Rawlinson be the Captain, and Mr. Edward Mitchell the Hydrant man'. This marks the beginning of the town's first official fire brigade; although it seems that for some time before 1874, there had been a fire-fighting appliance of some sort in the hands of the Gas Committee.

The newly-formed Dalton fire brigade² did not last very long, for the following year in September 1875, there was some disagreement between the brigade and the Local Board⁶ which culminated in the resignation of the entire brigade. Mr. E. B. Mitchell, who was by this time Captain of the fire brigade, wrote: 'The Dalton Local Board at their meeting on Monday, the 6th inst., passed a resolution to the effect that the Fire Brigade when out practising with the hose on the evening of August 6th, had not carried out their duty by not properly testing the various hydrants, and therefore each member of the brigade received only half his usual pay, that is 1s. 3d. instead of 2s. 6d. One member of the board had gone so far as to say that only one hydrant was used, whereas nine were tested and used and then further practice was impossible through very heavy rain falling. The result is that I, as the captain, and the rest that formed the brigade have resigned, determined not to be any longer governed by two or three people, that are set in motion by Mr. J. Robinson'. At the council meeting following this incident, the letter of resignation was read out, and, after some discussion, the Lighting and Watching Committee was instructed to take steps to form another brigade.

In 1885, when the Local Board⁷ moved from Market Place⁵ to its new offices in Station Road, the horses for both the fire brigade³ and the ambulance were stabled at the rear of the new premises. At about the turn of the century, the horseman for both the fire brigade and the ambulance service was Mr. Welstead, who came from London. As well as the fire engine, he also drove the ambulance, and it must have been rathew awkward if both services were called out at the same time. At first he had charge of three horses; one of them, a grey, was called Sidebones, and later, another horse, Darkie, was purchased for the rather high price of £90. It may be that there are still some old Daltonians alive today who can testify to the fact that the horses were so well trained that, when the fire bell started ringing and they were released from the stable, they would trot across the yard and position themselves on either side of the shaft of the appliance.

The fire-engine was kept in a state of instant readiness with its boiler full of water and the fire laid, so that it just required a match to light it. To see the fire-engine careering at speed along the rough streets, with sparks flying from the horses' hooves and the crew clinging to the swaying vehicle was a sight which never failed to attract crowds of spectators. One of its most famous captains was 'mad Captain Dunne' who earned himself this title because of the reckless speed at which he drove the horses.

Next Part: (The Emergence of the Modern Town):- 'Local Government'

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