Since the earliest days that people have lived in the Tyrone area, volunteer fire companies have served in an indispensable way, responding at all hours to sudden calls and fighting blazes in homes, stores, industries, and also in nearby forests.
In past times, many of the heads of families would work for the railroad or shift work at a local industry. This meant that one-third of these men were working at any time, and two-thirds were off. And when off duty, they were quickly available to respond. During their off-duty hours, literally hundreds of men in this area would spend part of their time in lovingly caring for the fire apparatus, and in learning firefighting skills. After school and on weekends, Junior Firemen were given the opportunity to learn skills that would help them when they were old enough to answer the calls.
How It All Began
During the terrible winter of 1857-58, just after Tyrone first was organized as a borough, two men, William Stokes and Benjamin Jones, were volunteer firemen. That was it. Every one of the townspeople realized that it was imperative that volunteer fire companies be organized in the community, but it would take ten years to get things moving.
In 1868, the Fire Department was organized, with William Stokes as Marshall. Three years later, 25 fireplugs were installed throughout the town. In 1870 Tyrone’s population was 1800. In 1880 it had increased to 3000. In that year occurred the great fire which broke out in the City Hotel Livery, in back of the hotel, at 3 a.m. on July 8, 1880. All its contents, including nine horses, went with the building. The fire-swept space extended from I. P. Walton’s store around the corner of Tenth street nearly to Logan avenue, leaving very little of the business portion and causing a loss estimated at $150,000. The Neptune Fire Company, which was then the only organization of its kind, was unable to cope with the devouring element alone, and two companies from Altoona and one from Huntingdon were summoned and hastened to help. The burnt area was soon cleared and, by the energy of its owners, covered with substantial buildings.
Neptune Hose Company
In 1871, the Neptune Hose Company was chartered by the Blair County Court and D. P. Ray was the first President. This fire company is one of the two now serving our community. Several years ago, the Neptune Fire Company relocated from Pennsylvania Avenue to a fine new structure on Lincoln Avenue, or “The Cinder Path” as old-timers call that stretch of the avenue.
Tyrone Fire Co. #1, Friendship, and Blazing Arrow
Tyrone Fire Company #1 was formed in 1878, but disbanded two years later. Friendship Hook & Ladder Company was formed in 1882, when the Tyrone Iron 11th Company donated a lot on Blair Avenue, and helped to build a two-story structure.
Twenty-nine years after the formation of Friendship, it was experiencing problems. A local group, the Blazing Arrow Tribe #406 of the Independent Order of Redmen, was authorized by the Borough to take over their operations and equipment, and organized the Blazing Arrow Hook & Ladder Company. The Redmen were a fraternal group of the time, similar to the Elks, or the Moose. They built a new structure at the present location on Blair Avenue. In recent years, their entire complex has been remodeled and modernized and has quarters for the AMED Emergency Ambulance Service for this area.
Citizens Fire Co. #2
In 1888, Citizens Fire Company #2 was formed. In 1893, they boasted of having two fine horses to pull their fire apparatus. Several years ago, Citizens Fire Company closed and its facilities were sold to others. Joshua House, a community center for young people, now uses the large building on the southwest side of Tenth Street, and the Social Hall across the street is now an automotive parts store.
Auxiliaries and Drum & Bugle Corps
For well over a half century, Tyrone was proud to have three fire companies. In 1937, the Ladies Auxiliary of the Neptune Fire Company started a drum & bugle corps of 28 young girls, which won many prizes, including First Prize at the 1940 State Convention! Not to be outdone, the Hookies Auxiliary also had an award-winning Drum & Bugle Corps. In June of 1939, they paraded and thrilled everyone!
Tyrone Fire Patrol
1888 was a busy year for volunteers in Tyrone. That year, the Tyrone Fire Patrol was formed. Most folks call them The Tyrone Fire Police, but their formal name has always been “patrol.” In any event, they perform a vital role in controlling traffic at emergency situations, such as fires, vehicle accidents or parades.
Why Tyrone’s Streets Are Higher Than the Buildings’ Original Levels
Something I learned while doing research on the fire companies ties in with the present dilemma in Tyrone concerning flooding. Tyrone’s downtown was laid out in the 1850s. The street levels were just a few feet above the normal level of the Bald Eagle Creek and the Little Juniata River, which were nearby.
To protect their merchandise from the water that frequently flowed down the streets of the town, most of the downtown stores were built up four or five feet, and there were steps from street level. The Town Fathers decided to take two bold actions. First, they would install storm sewers to take the waters off the streets. But, a brilliant idea was added. Since every store in town was up four or five feet from street level, they raised the streets! The sidewalks and streets were raised four feet and sewers were put on the old surface before the new elevated level was added and paved. That’s why most of the old buildings downtown are now at street level, but were originally built with steps in front. A few of the buildings had even more steps, such as Garman’s which was torn down last year, and Fisher’s Hardware (later the Pet Store).
You can clearly see the area that was built up, if you look from north of 12th Street. You will notice what is almost like a ramp at 11th Street, and the downward slant that begins at 14th Street ends. Likewise, if you notice the elevation continues up Tenth Street, but lowers back down at the underpass. And, in times of high water, South Lincoln Avenue is often the first to flood, since it was not raised as the rest of the downtown.
Firemen Needed Fun, Too
Fighting fires has always been a serious thing, especially if there are human lives at stake. So, our local firefighters needed times to have fun, especially during parades. Before he left Tyrone to be involved in Armed Forces Security, our present Mayor, Bill Fink, started a group that appeared in countless parades. He called it “Joe Commode and the Four-Flushers.” In the parade lineup were a group of clowns, pulling a replica of an old outhouse on a trailer. When they approached a group of folks along the street, the door of the outhouse would open and a light spray headed for the kids and adults. After Bill’s career took him away from Tyrone, Dave Cupp took over and the crazy antics continued for many a year!
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