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Any photos not otherwise credited are from the personal collection of Frank Passic, Albion Historian.
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Morning Star, September 27, 2024, pg. 5 In the spring of 1856, a volunteer fire department was organized in our village called the Alert Engine Fire Company Number 1. This group purchased a hand-powered fire engine for $1,000, which was the pride and joy of these men. Whenever there was a fire call, the men would immediately leave their occupations at a moment's notice and drag the so-called "Alert Number 1" to the scene of the fire. The hose would be unwound, with the water source usually being a nearby cistern. The men would hand-pump the engine to force the water through the hose and aim the hose at the fire. Thus were the early practices of our first fire department. There is a classic 1866 photo of this Company that exists, with the men standing in front of the 300 block of S. Superior St. We've featured that photo before in this column, and that photo also appears in some local history books. As Albion grew following the Civil War, other volunteer units were formed, and eventually a municipal fire department operated by the village was organized. Our focus this week however concerns the fate of the original Alert Company. When the Alert Company was eventually disbanded, there was still money in the Company treasury. The men purchased custom-made gold badges bearing the name "Alert Number 1" on the front, along with the name and office-position of each member. In 1886, thirty years after the organization of The Alert, remaining members gathered for a reunion photograph, wearing their gold badges. Also in the photo is a large engraved silver trumpet that the Alert Company won on July 4, 1857 at the first State Fireman's Tournament in Kalamazoo. At that event, prizes were awarded for water throwing by hand fire engines. Sixty (60!) Alert members participated in that event, with the Alert victoriously winning first prize. From our Historical Notebook this week we present that 30th anniversary photograph of some remaining members. Seated, left to right: Augustus J. Gale holding the silver trumpet, Frederick Sheldon, Charles Dalrymple, and Nicholas Plough. Back row: Charles Austin, Henry Daniels Smith, John Phipps, J. W. Gillespie, John Fanning, William Balcom. As a bonus to our readers, we are also featuring a close-up photo of John Fanning's badge, which he is wearing in the anniversary photo. What happened to the silver trumpet? It was kept for safe-keeping by Charles W. Dalrymple until 1904, when it was presented to the City of Albion by the four surviving members of the Company. What happened to the hand-pumped fire engine? It ended up being stored in the lower portion of the original "Maher Block" on N. Superior St., a wooden structure where Albion carpenter/builder George Maher operated his planing mill. This is now the site of the Hurley Block, that big brick building south of the railroad tracks. A November 16, 1899 Recorder article revealed, "There reposes in the lower part of the old building on N. Superior St. a fire engine of ancient type which was once the pride of a company of volunteer firemen in this city, and the protector of their homes. This engine is known as the "Alert Number 1," and in its pristine glory shone resplendent with brass trimmings, but time has touched it with its tarnished finger, and now the fallen monarch lies, a plaything for the mice and spiders." Unfortunately, J.J. Hurley purchased and demolished the old Maher building around 1900 in order to build his large brick building in its place. We are assuming that the original Alert engine was destroyed with it. We have not read anything about that original fire engine after this 1899 article.  30th Anniversary of the Alert Engine Fire Company Number 1
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