HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1979-05-09, Page 16Page 16,--Lucknow Sentinel, Wednesday, May 9, 1979
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Lucknow fire, 'ehiefOna...:044
George Whitby and Stu Collyer can
recall many of the big fires which occurred
• in Lucknow in the past 25 years. They
fought all of them. George has been
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Lucknow Fire Chief and Stu has been
secretary of the department for all of those
•years. They were elected to their respect-
ive 'positions in February of 1954.
• Two of the major industries in town have
burned through the history of the Lucknow
Fire Department. Anderson Rex Products
made a "spectacular fire" when it went
down in June, 1952. Treleaven's Mill
burned in August of 1962. "That was a
fire," comments Stu.
• The business section, of the village has
been razed by fire three times. Early in the
century the north side of Campbell Street
was burned. It was replaced by the Beaver
Block. The contract for building the block
of stores from Henry's Fruit Market to
MacLennan and MacKenzie's furniture
store was awarded by John Joynt and A. T.
Davison in April, .1906.
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In February of 1950, the "saw -mill office
fire" as it is recorded in Stu Collyer's
secretary files, burned out Russ Robert-
son's saw -mill office, Hiighie Cumming's
barbershop,. Elmer MacKay's shoe repair
and a gift shop. George can remember the
barbershop chair ended up in the river that
night;,When he went home, he had to pour
hot water down the front of his coat to get it
open. It was completely iced over because
the temperature outside was 14 below zero
fahrenheit.,
Stu went home and changed his clothes
and went to teach school. The firemen had
been at the scene all night long.
Hughie and Elmer went downtown to
work as usual in the morning. They had
slept through the fire alarm and did not
know their businesses had been burned
out ,until they went -to work next morning.
In December of 1961 the block of stores
where Machan Hardware and the Bank of
Montreal are now located, went up in
flames. Joe MacMillan's butcher shop,
Gordon Fisher's barbershop, Crest Hard-
ware and Phillip Stewart's paint shop were
lost.
' This was the second time Hughie
Cumming had been affected by fire. He
was working with Gordon. Fisher in his
barbershop at the time.
SCHOOL BURNS
A fire which stuck close to home for Stu
was the time Lucknow Public School
burned in January 1968. He was school
principal. It started in the boiler room and
Stu's theory is a. switch on the coal stoker
could have overheated. The fire travelled
along to an air vent and then went through
it to the attic.
The school had two foot thick fire walls
and• some believed it couldn't burn. But the
• fire walls went only as far as the roof and
• the roof was slate. When the fire got to the
attic it had, a field day..
• Stu is proud that Lucknow School,
children missed only five school days when
their school burned. They set up class-
' In December 1961 the block of stores wheri Machan Hardware and the Sank of Montreal are now, went up in flames.
This was the third time a Major the had destroyed Main street Inishiesses. In the earlyliart of the century the north side
'Of Campbell Street burned and hi 1950 the "sawmill office fire" binned out three biTtuesses.
rooms in the town hall; the Presbyterian
Church, the Anglican Parish Hall and two
rooms at the High School.
Donations of books and old desks from
other schools provided the necessities to
finish the school year.
In September the high school students
were to be bused to, F. E. ,Madill High
School in Wingham and Lucknow High
• School was to be closed. Instead, the
Lucknow High School became the new
public school and elementary education in
the village is continued, there today.
CAIN HOUSE
The earliest "big" fire George and Stu
remembers is the burning of the Cain
House in 1930. It used to sit on the corner
• where the Post Office is now.
George can remember the teachers
brought the children down to watch the fire
and then returned to classes. Stu recalls he
never did go to school. He raced down
when the fire call came and remained to
watch. He remembers the reprimand the
next morning at school for those students
who did not come to school the day of the
fire. -
Water was pumped from .the river by •
• steam pressure at the Waterworks building
which still stands on the river on the :south
• side of Highway 86, across from Tre-
• leaven's Mill.
• Firemen pulled a hose reel and h_ookec
•- up their hose to the nearest hydrant whict.
• drew ' the water from. the, Waterworks
System.
Before the first pumper was purchased
• in 1949 a wagon with ladders and hooks
was 'hitched behind a buggy, cutter or
sleigh and drawn to the fires If no vehicle
wasavailable, the men pulled it them.-
• selves. It was kept under the town hall
behind the big door on the west .side of the
• Early history of the Lucknow Firemen is
very vague. A brief history is contained in
•The Story of Lucknow' ". published in
commemoration of the Centennial.Anniver-
sary in 1958.
The, earliest mention is made of the
• purchase of a hand pumper in .1864, six
• years after Lucknow was founded.
Lucknow Waterworks was completed in
1889. The firemen had 1,300 feet of hose, a
large reel, two smaller reels and a ladder
---truck-.-The -fire alarm was sounded by the
ringing of the Methodist Church bell and
the whistle at the waterworks engine
house.- • •••
A wave of arson sprang up after the new
• • firefighting equipment had been received
and this was the concern of the village for
• some time. ••
• ARSON
A more recent fire confirmed to be arson
was in -.fitly, 1966 when MacDonald's
• Saw -mill burned. Jack MacDonald and his
• son, Tom were' very proud of -the old
waterwheel in their mill and they were
pleased to show it to the village children
when they came down to themill.
Jack and Tom • were killed in , a car
accident with two other members of their
• family, and the mill'iatemrity for a time. It
was then it is believed someone set fire to
it, The Lucknow Fire Department brought
in the fire marshal'who confirmed their
suspicionsof arson,
During the Second World War the
firemen were still pulling the reels and
ladder wagon.
In • .1945 a Ford Army truck was
purchased kom a local garageman and it
was not to leave the village at any time as a
fire truck. •
In 1949 a LaFranc fire engine with a Ford
• chasis was purchased and a portable pump
and other modern devices have been
added. After the purchase of the new
truck, an agreement was made with neigh-
bouring townships whereby the Lucknow
• Department would supply fire protection.
• In 1978 an agreement with Kinloss,
• Ashfield and West Wawanosh Town -ships
was formed whereby the four municipalit-
• ies share ownership of the equipment,
capital and maintenance eosts.
• A new pumper was. purchased in 1978
and the department nOW has two pumpers
and a tanker. They also have a county -wide