History

Tipton Volunteer Fire Department 407 Lynn St. Tipton, IA 52772

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History of the Tipton Fire Department

1883 - Present

Although the town of Tipton was founded in 1840, there would be no organized fire company for another 43 years.

The Conflagration of April 17th, 1870.
It may have been the fire on April 17th 1870 that finally prompted action for an organized fire company. It destroyed the entire southeast quarter corner fronting on Cedar and Fifth Streets. It started around 9 PM in the livery stable owned by Heaton & Boynton, roughly where the Hardacre Theatre stands today. Damage was estimated at $26,550, which would equal hundreds of thousands of dollars today.

The editor of the Tipton Advertiser summed up the events:

“At the fire, although numbers worked diligently and efficiently, the lack of any organized effort and of the direction of any cool head was painfully apparent. There was also the usual crowd of miserable whelps who looked on calmly, puffed their cigars, and even strove to amuse the ladies by using their tongues vigorously but who could not be induced to make any further exertion of their worthless bodies. Most as mean but not so lazy as these, were the contemptible scamps who busied themselves by stealing whatever they could lay hold upon.”

The Beginning of the Tipton Fire Department
The first formal roster was formed on October 24, 1876. However, there is evidence that training and leadership was sporadic and grossly un-organized. The official beginning is recognized on January 23rd, 1883 as “The Champion Fire Company of Tipton”. (based on the fact that the existing fire equipment in Tipton was the Champion No. 3 Chemical Engine)
There were 11 original members, one foreman and an assistant foreman:

S.D. Casad-Foreman, W.A. Hamn-Asst. Foreman, Lou Stafford-Cylinder, D. Welch-Cylinder, G.W. Fleming and Dan Hoon-Nozzlemen, Geo. Chittick and A.B. Keller-Asst. Nozzlemen, Geo. Ingman-Small Extinguisher, Charles Sproat-Small Extinguisher, Dave Clark, James Rielly, and George Dean-Hose and Aze Men.

The first fire station was located in the building where The Tipton Conservative now resides. The room upstairs was used by the city for meetings and there were even a couple of cells where “drunks can sober up”.

In 1883, the first organized fire company fund-raiser was held at city hall on Thanksgiving Evening. It was a Firemen’s Ball complete with door prizes including a piano, valuable watch, and different bushels of produce. This fundraiser was organized to elicit money for the purchase a hook and ladder truck. The equipment was purchased for $262.70.

The Fire Company Running Team
It was common practice during this time for fire companies to have ‘running teams’. This encompassed a certain number of company members pulling and hook and ladder truck a prescribed distance. It was decided that a time of 48 seconds was needed to qualify for the state tournament in Dubuque, Iowa.
To quote the reference “Cedar Land -1836 to 1980”:

“The apparatus was hand-drawn as was the rest of the fire fighting equipment. A racing team was organized, C.H. (Fat) Long, tall, slim, lazy, but deceptively speedy, ran the lead. Other members ran two abreast. The distance to run was 100 yards. At that point a 30 foot ladder was jerked from the top of the truck and up-ended, being anchored to the ground by sturdy souls. At the psychological moment, Bill Shipley, cool, active, and collected, who ran some yards to the rear, reached the base of the ladder and without breaking his stride rose in the ascent. It was a spectacular sight as youth in open-mouthed wonder stood by. Shipley was succeeded by “Bill” MacNamara. They filled the “bill” to a “T”. There were other racing teams at Wilton, Davenport and Muscatine. The contests were spirited affairs, often ending in hotly and frightening contested decisions.”

The Next 100 Years
On May 7th, 1889 the official name changed to “The Tipton Fire Company”. There is no mention of when the organization switched it’s name to Tipton Volunteer Fire Department.

Tipton’s first motorized fire truck arrived in Tipton on June 14th, 1920.

In early 1933, the first Woodhouse gas and smoke masks were purchased. These would be a very primitive version of today’s SCBA.

The depression was evident in the fire company’s history. As noted in the local papers “After May 1st, 1937 there will be a charge of $25 per rural fire if the person is not a stockholder in the truck. The first $10 going to the fire company, the balance going to the maintenance fund for the rural truck.”

On November 20th 1937, the fire department moved their quarters into the new Tipton municipal building. (City Hall)

The call volume for 1965 included 21 rural calls and 14 city calls.

In 1967, interested firemen were told to apply for ambulance work by the city.

January 27th, 1970. The Stamos Furniture Fire
One of the most prolific fires in Tipton’s history was started in the area of the gas furnace near the back of the story, although no official cause could be found. Estimated loss was $100,000.

In June of 1971, a bid of $49,965 by Bottecher was accepted for the new fire station. The department moved into their new station in the middle of 1972, with the open house held on October 21st 1972. Their location in City Hall was replaced by the ambulance until they moved into their new facility in the early 1990’s. It is currently the Tipton Police station.

The call volume for 1972 grew slightly to 39 calls total.

Tipton’s first lime-yellow fire truck, a Ford 1,000 gpm pumper, arrives on June 28th, 1973.

August 9th, 1974. Fire at the Bringer Inn
A fire stared at the Bringer Inn above the stove around 8 pm. Fire chief Bob Peck and former Fire Chief Joe Conway were both eating at the restaurant when the fire broke out. The extinguisher above the stove did not function and when Chief Peck grabbed a wall fire extinguisher, he found it to be empty. Firefighters responded immediately but the fire caused $100,000 damage.

In March of 1979 the Jaws of Life was carried in the department’s crash wagon, an impressive piece of equipment to have in 1979 considering the size of Tipton. Up until the 1990’s, Tipton would respond to nearby communities that did not have a Jaws of Life.

July 21st, 1979. The Feed Bag Restaurant.
An estimated 100,000 gallons of water were used to save the Feed Bag Restaurant that caused an estimated $40,000 in damage.

In 1980 the number of fire calls exploded to 85.

Asst. Fire chief John Miller is voted to Fire Chief in 1986, replacing Robert Peck.

In 1989, a natural gas holding tank caught fire at the West Branch plant prompting an extensive and lengthy multi-agency response. Tipton Fire helped to shuttle water to the site for days until the gas finally burned itself out.

The Tipton Fire cadet program was started around 1996 which allowed high school students to respond to calls and help with the non-dangerous tasks at emergency scene. To date, nearly 20 students have taken part in the program (including 6 females) with a handful of them continuing their interest in emergency services once they graduated.

Past two Tipton fire chiefs. Bob Peck (left) and John Miller (right)

The last red truck was replaced in 1996 when the current medium-rescue truck was purchased. The vehicle it replaces was a 1970 ¾ ton Ford van used only to carry personnel to calls.

In 1997, Tipton saw its first female firefighter voted in as a full member. Meleah Miller, who was one of the first cadets to participate in the program, was the first female to complete the 6 month probationary period and receive a favorable vote.

July 21st 1999. The Tanker Fire on I-80
A gasoline tanker-truck traveling westbound left crashed a few feet away from the Cedar River and ultimately exploded. Many factors (fire hazard, hazardous materials, environmental contamination, high temperatures, structural integrity of the Interstate 80 Cedar River bridge) prompted a large response that included 14 agencies from 4 counties.

In 2002, Tipton fire received a grant which enabled them to buy all new personal protective gear. The second grant in 2004 was used to buy new SCBA air packs and bottles as well as some more pagers and radios.

During 2006 and into 2007, the department worked with architects and city officials to plan a new fire station. The old station was constructed in 1972.

On May 14th, 1941 the bankers of the county were allowed to use the front room for draft registration and all members leaving for the service were told to tender their resignations and be put on the waiting list.

April 27, 1952. The Honeymead Fire.
$90,000 damage was caused when fire broke out at the Honeymead company. Flames shot up 100 feet into the air as molasses barrels randomly exploded. It took 6 departments from Tipton, Mechanicsville, Stanwood, Clarence, Lowden, and Bennett the entire day to extinguish the blaze. To make matters worse, 2,700 feet of hose was lost when it was dragged through the fresh oil and syrup that filled the streets.

The Cedar County Firemen’s Association was organized in the spring of 1954.

A teenager was rescued clinging to a tree after heavy rains caused this stream to flow over the bridge.

In 2001, a child was killed in this moblie home fire. It has been the only fire-related death in the past 30 years.