Rogers fortunate to have fine fire department

Rogers was founded in 1881, and quickly began to grow. At the time, virtually all of the buildings were wood frame, heated with wood or coal, built close together, and had no running water. The chance of destruction by fire was a real danger, and many fires occurred during this era. The first big fire occurred in Rogers in 1886 when a blaze consumed the Hotel Rogers, livery stables, restaurants, stores and a large part of the business portion of the new town. (Fort Smith Tribune, Nov. 30, 1886, courtesy of Caren McNeil) Just two years later, in 1888, the first fire department was organized in Rogers by J.A.C. Blackburn, the lumber king of Northwest Arkansas, and other businessmen. The first order of business to fight fires was to have a pressurized water source. In 1888, Blackburn organized a company to build Rogers’ first water tower and to lay pipes with hydrants in downtown Rogers. The water was pumped up to the tower on East Walnut from Diamond Springs (in the Lake Atalanta area). The Rogers Fire Department began as Rogers Hose Company No. 1 on Nov. 22, 1888, when the first volunteers showed up. John Rebholz was named the first chief at this meeting. Over the next 10 years, the firemen put on balls, parades and other festivals to support the organization. (Rogers Fire Department website, 10-29-18) In 1889, the 16 man Rogers Hose Company No.1 was also an excellent drill team, and in a state competition won the first real piece of fire-fighting equipment — a hand-drawn hose cart. This hose cart was dragged to the fires and used until 1915, when the department acquired its first fire truck. Also in 1889, the department acquired a fire bell that was mounted atop the new city hall building and fire station at 114 N. First St. (now a parking lot). When a fire occurred, the volunteers were alerted by the bell, and the location was determined by the number of rings — different for each ward of the city. Today, the hose cart and fire bell are on display in the Fire Museum at Station No. 1, 301 N. First St. The Rogers Hose Company was severely tested again in 1898, when another large fire destroyed a half-block of older landmark woodframe buildings including a two-story hotel, restaurants, jewelry stores and general stores. The Rogers Democrat newspaper of Nov. 3, 1898, described the event: “An alarm brought out the fire department promptly but the water supply was scant and they were unable to abate the fire until a messenger was sent to the water works (located where Clark Pavilion at Lake Atalanta Park is today) to pump both supply and pressure sufficient to arrest the flames. By reason of this condition, the fire gained great headway.” (article courtesy of Caren McNeil) In 1895, a brick and stone mason named C.R. Crowe and his 16-year-old stepson, John Mylar, came to Rogers. Crowe convinced the merchants that brick and stone buildings would be far superior to the wood buildings and be much more fireproof. From that time on, almost all of the buildings downtown were constructed of masonry. The next big fire happened in 1909, when the Ozark Hotel and six other wood frame buildings were reduced to ashes. The volunteers fought valiantly, but their equipment was inadequate and all they could do was to try to keep the fire from spreading. After that fire, the firefighting equipment was upgraded. In 1915, the Rogers Hose Company purchased its first motorized vehicle — an American LaFrance chemical truck that cost $5,000. The truck sprayed water by dumping chemicals in a water tank and thus water and foam were forced out, much like dropping an Alka Seltzer in a glass of water. This truck was sorely inadequate, and in 1919, the city bought the first pumper truck — Old Hulda, which served until 1955. Old Hulda has been restored and can be examined today in the Fire Museum at Station No. 1. For 34 years, the all-volunteer Rogers Hose Company No. 1 protected the city until it was formally reorganized in 1922 as the Rogers Fire Department, an integral part of city government. The first fire chief was volunteer Dr. George Love. Chief Love restructured the fire department and started compensating volunteers $1 per run to a fire. He remained chief until his death in 1953. The next year, 1923, Rogers hired its first full-time paid firefighter, Frank Jacobs. His initial salary was $70 per month, and he was on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week. His initial duties alternated between manning the fire department and as a motorcycle cop. The year after Jacobs was hired, Rogers paved its streets and put up stop signs. The citizens of Rogers had a hard time observing the new stop signs, and Jacobs wrote traffic violation tickets three days a week. Frank Jacobs was made acting fire chief in 1950 due to the ill health of Dr. Love and promoted to chief in 1953. He served as fire chief until he retired in 1966. Very little change occurred in the physical makeup of the RFD until 1936, when the department bought another fire truck that would pump 500 gallons per minute. Ten years later, in 1946, the department hired a second full-time fireman, William Keltner. Finally, Frank Jacobs had another fireman that he could alternate with to get some time off. The fire department was located along with the police department and other city offices in the old City Hall at 114 N. First St. until 1929. In that year, a new three-story City Hall designed by architect A.O. Clarke was built at 212 W. Elm St. The new building housed the fire department, police department, city offices, council chambers and public library. The fire department was at home on West Elm Street until a new Fire Station No. 1 was built in 1998 on North First Street, between Chestnut and Maple streets. The RFD has grown to serve the ever-expanding city of Rogers and now includes 120 firefighters and 12 civilians serving as administrative assistants, building inspectors and other jobs. Rogers has seven fire stations and soon will open No. 8. The equipment includes 35 large fire apparatus and ambulances and several smaller vehicles. This year is the 130th anniversary of the Rogers Fire Department, and the citizens of Rogers are blessed with one of the best fire departments in the world.

Photo courtesy RFD The Rogers Hose Company about 1889 posed at the northwest corner of Walnut and First streets. The all volunteer fire department served until 1922 when the Rogers Fire Department was organized.