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Friday, May 24 • 2013
Vol. 5 • Issue 94
Cabaret moves closer to Capitol stage See Page 13 & {vurb}
280 Baker Street Nelson BC (250)
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First of Three Parts
HORSES, HOSES, HISTORY When the Nelson fire hall was built in 1913, horses transported the crew and ladders to the action. Over the years the Uphill HQ has been altered, welcomed Hollywood, and faced replacement. As it marks a century, the Star takes a closer look at the heritage icon that adds to the city’s charm while protecting its residents
GREG NESTEROFF
O
Nelson Star Reporter
Laura Salmon
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Young soccer players prepare for Walgren weekend See Page 18
n May 20, 1913, the Nelson Fire Department moved into its new headquarters at the corner of Ward and Latimer streets, a brick building then considered the most modern of its kind. A century later, the department is still there, in what’s now BC’s oldest operating fire hall — no one disputes the title which was recently affirmed during a meeting of provincial fire chiefs in Nelson.
BUILT FOR HORSES
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n 1909, then-fire chief Donald Guthrie pleaded with city council for a new hall to replace the one at the corner of Victoria and Josephine streets built 15 years earlier, which he described as “poorly located, unsanitary, and delapidated.” He got his wish but it took until June 1912 to approve the funds. The new hall was designed in Italiante Villa style by city engineer G.C. Mackay and built by contractors John Burns and Son for $17,973 (over $367,000 today). It came in under budget but slightly behind schedule due to boiler problems.
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This is the earliest known photo of the Nelson fire hall, not long after its completion in 1913, when horses and wagons were the prime means of responding to alarms. Courtesy Nelson Fire & Rescue
According to Nelson: A Proposal for Urban Heritage Conservation, the location was initially dismissed by citizens as too far from the city’s core, but it proved a wise decision given the growing Uphill residential district and proximity of several schools. The original floor plan showed the basement with a coal room, boiler room, and battery room that powered the alarm system. The second floor had accommodation for the chief and ten firefighters and the ground floor had room for two wagons and five horses — two teams and a spare — plus a grain bin and hay room.
“The fire hall basically was a stable for horses as opposed to a garage for trucks,” says current chief Simon Grypma. “Instead of waxing fire engines they would have been feeding, brushing, and washing the horses and checking their hooves instead of air pressure in the tires.” When a call came in, “Residents were amazed and awestruck by the precision training and general intelligence of the horses,” according to an anonymous account compiled in the 1950s. As the gong sounded, the Story continues to ‘Making way’ on Page 14
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