November 15, 1933

This week’s Walcott Community News featured an article about heroes, one being the fire department and its volunteers. In early 1897 Walcott decided to organize a fire Department. It consisted of a small number of businessmen volunteers and two hand pulled hose carts, one located on each side of the tracks. But they were unable to combat large fires such as the blaze at the elevator in 1914. Around 1927 when finally a fire district had been formed, the International fire truck was purchased which provided better fire protection for everyone. Farmers were charged $25 per farm which paid for the truck and then the town agreed to pay for the truck’s upkeep. There is a picture of that truck in the book, “Walcott, The Early Years 1854-1954,” which is available thru the historical society. Also pictured in the book are the first fire department volunteers including their names. The newspaper articles below help fill in some of the fire department’s history. Click the highlighted link above to view the full newspaper.