The doors are open at #2 Fire Hall
The recent openings of the King Street and Weber Street subways under the mainline railway track have solved a problem that has plagued Berlin/Kitchener ever since 1856, when the Grand Trunk ran its first train through the village. Those in traffic, be it horse and wagon, pedestrian, streetcar, bus, car, truck, bicycle, have been known to mutter not very subtle curses when a long train passed s-l-o-w-l-y by. Even worse, rail crews often blocked roads while shuttling cars to assemble trains.
This brings to mind one of the buildings featured today, Sept. 15, for Doors Open. It was built in 1913 on Edward Street — 105 years later, you would look in vain for an Edward Street in Kitchener. Until the late 1950s, Edward ran from Francis Street North as far as Bismark before curving south to meet Waterloo Street.
Nowadays, street signs along that route say Duke Street West. In 1913, after years of discussions and arguments the new City of Berlin decided to erect #2 Fire Hall on Edward Street near Breithaupt.
The city did not really need a second fire hall but wanted to thwart a possible disaster. Because the Grand Trunk Railway often assembled trains along the multiple sets of tracks between King and the rickety Margaret Avenue bridge, there were occasions when street crossings over the rail line were blocked.
Fire equipment might thus be stuck on the east side of the rail line while fire raged on the west side. With the new #2 Fire Hall, at least some firefighting apparatus and six of Berlin’s approximately 20 firemen could reach the scene quickly.
In the first photo, taken shortly after the 1913 opening, everything looks in tip-top shape: building, men, horses, equipment, even the landscaping. Those first two horses were replaced in 1916 by a $400 pair named Duke and Prince. Even after motorized equipment began supplanting horse drawn pumpers and ladder wagons, Duke and Prince stayed at #2 Fire Hall, becoming neighbourhood favourites.
The interior photograph, taken in the late 19-teens, features Chief Harry Guerin (hired in 1915) in his chief’s car and six firemen. This century-old photo has suffered some vandalism in its day and the faces have been scratched out but it is the only known image of #2’s interior. Signs above two of the doors at the rear read DUKE and PRINCE. The driver of the Fire Hose Wagon is Alphonse Ditner and beside him is Fire Captain George Fleischauer. Standing behind are Albert Dankwardt, Charles Kesselring, Hugo Rathman and Herbert Bauman. Those may be some of the same men in the 1913 photo. The third photo (bottom right) spotlights Pumper #2, with a 1932 licence plate, which had been reassigned from fire department headquarters.
Kitchener’s #2 Fire Hall served until 1965 when replaced by a new #2 on Guelph Street. That in turn lasted until 2000 when #2 moved to its current location at Lancaster and Guelph. Photos are courtesy of Tim Forsyth, the Kitchener Fire Department’s historian curator.
Today, Sept. 15, is a rare chance to tour #2 Fire Hall. The structure has been many things since 1965: storage building, auto body shop, artist’s studio and now two tech firms share the space: DOZR Inc and RouteThis. Thanks to the current owners and occupants, #2 Fire Hall is part of Doors Open in Kitchener. You can visit from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and either study the historical aspects of the building or learn about two of the exciting startups that have transformed the city’s downtown.
Doors Open has sites throughout the Region of Waterloo and a visit to www.regionofwaterloo. ca/doorsopen will give you a visual tour of all 34 participants in Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo and Woolwich Township.
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1) Tim Forsyth is researching the Kitchener Fire Department and would like to hear from anyone with stories or photos: timforsyth@bell.net.
2) The County House of Refuge (a.k.a. The Poorhouse) is the topic for Waterloo Historical Society’s Sept. 25 meeting at Kitchener’s Victoria Park pavilion. All are welcome, no admission charge, doors open at 7 p.m. Visit www.whs.ca.