Arlington Fire Company

     The idea of creating a fire district in Arlington dates to January of 1889 when the Rhode Island General Assembly issued a charter for the “Arlington School District”, (District No. 10), to become a fire district known as “The Arlington Fire District”. Once the charter was obtained, a meeting to vote to accept or reject the charter was held on September 2, 1889 in a vacant hay and grain company building. According to a newspaper article which appeared in The Cranston Leader on September 5^th, fifty “taxable voters” were present, with some in favor, and others against. Those against didn’t want to have to pay higher taxes to fund and maintain a fire company.

     The charter authorized certain rights of the district such as “Elect fire wardens and presidents of fire wards; may provide for the assessment and collection of taxes; may pull down and blow up buildings in case of fire; may for fire companies; call special meetings; enact by-laws to meet the needs of the district.”

     The matter was tabled for further discussion, and was still being debated into the following year, and apparently for several years afterwards. 

     The following article from The Providence News, dated June 15, 1892, illustrated the need for a fire company in Arlington.   Click on image to enlarge. 

    According to a newspaper article which appeared in The Providence News on March 3, 1896, headlined; “Arlington Fire Department Organized”, eighty voters opted to establish the fire company at a special meeting held at the Arlington District Hall on March 2, 1896.    The first officers were: Charles O. Bennett – Preesident; 1st Vice President – George Field, 2nd Vice President – John Bigbee; 3rd Vice President  – Andrew Winsor; Secretary – J. E. Hammond; Treasurer – W. F. Kenison. 

     It was decided to divide members into three classes: Active, Associate, and Honorary.  Active members were then divided into two groups, Arlington Fire Company No. 3, which would maintain the hose carriage kept at John Bigbee’s barn, and Arlington Fire Company No. 4, which would maintain the hose carriage kept at the Arlington District Hall.  A Forman would command each piece of apparatus, and both officers would come under the command of  another officer. 

     The number of active members at the time of organization was reported to be “about 65”.       

     The following article appeared in The Providence News, March 10, 1896.

    

     On May 16, 1896, The Providence News reported that the Arlington Fire Company had recently held a dance, and members had appeared wearing their uniforms for the first time.  The uniforms were described as being red shirts, blue trousers and a cap.   

     A newspaper article from April, 1896, mentioned the fire company drilling with Hose Reel No. 4.   It was also in 1896 that the fire company obtained a hook & ladder wagon for $125. 

     At a meeting held in March of 1897, the following officers were elected: President – William Cutting; 1st Vice President – John Bigbee; 2nd V.P. – Charles O. Bennett; 3rd V. P. – Andrew Winsor; 4th V. P. – H. L. Allen; Treasurer – W. F. Kenison; Trustees – M. D. Angel, George H. Hull, and W. H. Hall.     

     In June of 1897, the fire company was loaned a large hand-pump engine for trial purposes with an option to buy.  After two trials, during which the engine hurled a stream of water for 140 feet, it was decided not to buy the engine.  In a Providence News article dated June 17, 1897, it was stated in part: “The men are not as anxious as they were at first for a hand engine.  The fifty men who took hold of the handles of the engine worked hard for about five minutes.  Then man after man quit work.  The short time that a man is able to pump at one of these engines was plainly demonstrated to the company, and they concluded that the engine would be of no service at a fire.”

     At a meeting held in March of 1897, the following officers were elected: President – William Cutting; 1st Vice President – John Bigbee; 2nd V.P. – Charles O. Bennett; 3rd V. P. – Andrew Winsor; 4th V. P. – H. L. Allen; Treasurer – W. F. Kenison; Trustees – M. D. Angel, George H. Hull, and W. H. Hall.     

     The Arlington Fire Station was located at Cranston and Bain Streets. In November of 1908 it was suggested that a key box be placed outside the door. The box could be easily broken, and would allow someone to enter the station in the event of a fire. In the past the locked door had been broken to allow entry, and it was felt that a small key box would be more economical to repair that the door.

      By December of 1908, the company had at least 92 members, with nine applications pending.   

      In November of 1908, a small fire broke out in a barn at the farm of George Cahoone which was located near Cranston Street and Gansett Avenue. Chief of police John Bigbee lived nearby on Cranston Street, and at his home was a small shed which housed a hose reel for fighting fires.  When the chief was notified of the fire, he and his son Richard pulled the hose reel from the shed and brought it to the scene. While hauling the reel down the street a chain on the apparatus snapped and struck Chief Bigbee in his lower leg causing a small laceration. The wound became infected and the chief developed what was termed “blood poisoning”. Antibiotics didn’t exist in 1908, and the chief lingered for several weeks as he fought the infection. Unfortunately he died at home several weeks later on December 11, 1908.

     Chief Bigbee was Cranston’s first Chief of Police, having been elected to the position in 1886. He was also a member of the Arlington Volunteer Fire Company, and because this connection the fire company received a hose cart that had formally been in use as a police wagon.  The wagon was made by the Abbot Downing Company of Concord, New Hampshire, manufacturers of the famous Concord Stagecoach. Its serial number was 24646.  It was retired from police service when the department acquired its first motorized patrol vehicle.     

     At a city council meeting held on November 20, 1911, a resolution was passed that ordered the Chief of Police to turn the wagon over to the Arlington Volunteer Fire Company to be used as a fire wagon. Fifty dollars was allotted to the fire company to buy hoses and make any necessary modifications.  After the wagon was repainted, the gold pinstriping on the left side was outlined in black in honor of Chief Bigbee.   

      It’s unknown when the wagon last saw active service, but at some point it came into possession of the Cranston Historical Society and was put in storage. In 1989, it was sold to members of the Meshanticut Fire Company and brought to their fire station for restoration. The wagon still exists today, and is presently in storage at the Sprague Mansion on Cranston Street. 

     In March of 1912, a large steam whistle was mounted to the roof of the Narragansett Brewery. The whistle was part of a newly upgraded fire alarm box system which would sound whenever a box was activated. The whistle operated at 110 pounds of steam pressure from a two inch pipe.

     On October 5, 1912, volunteers responded to 80 Crawford Street to extinguish a fire caused by a defective chimney flue. The home suffered about $300 in damage, and the hose wagon belonging the company was accidentally struck by an automobile on the way back to the station.

     On February 27, 1912, the fire company responded to a blaze at an undisclosed location near the Narragansett Brewery. Upon arrival it was discovered that one of the pipe nozzles was broken, and only one hose line could be laid. Chief James V. Crofton ordered one man to race to the brewery and borrow a nozzle so another line could be laid.

     At a company meeting in December of 1914, the following officers were elected: James V. Crofton – Chief; First Assistant Chief – James F. Clary; Second assistant Chief – Arthur Richardson; Captain of Hook & Ladder – Frank Umlauf; Captain of Hose 4 – Elmer Cobb; Captain of Hose 3 – John A. Hamilton;

     In 1919, the Arlington Fire Company was still without a motorized fire truck.   

      On on the evening of March 29, 1924, a fire broke out in the hay storage sheds of the Arlington Grain Company.  As firemen attacked the flames, one of the storage buildings caved in and burning timbers fell against an adjoining tenement house.  Companies from around the city responded and confined the loss to the storage sheds.   

     On October 19, 1924, the Arlington volunteers were dispatched to a structure fire on Bracken Street.  The building was a two-family home still under construction, and was therefore unoccupied.  The alarm came in just before 9 o’clock in the evening, but there had been a delay in reporting it, and upon arrival, the nearest hydrant was 2,500 feet away.  The building was a total loss, but there were no injuries.   

     Anyone with more information to provide is welcome to contact the museum.