Looking back

TIFFIN – Tiffin Fire/Rescue Division celebrated its 130th anniversary with a ribbon cutting Thursday. The A-T met with Tiffin Fire/Rescue Division Chief Rob Chappell, used A-T archives and the History of Tiffin Fire Department 1843-1993 by retired Tiffin Fire/Rescue Deputy Chief Richard J. Steinmetz to compile a brief history of the department. Chappell Kassie Bodart "(The year) 1843 was the earliest date that there was any organized fire department operating within the city," Chappell said. "Previously, there were private and volunteer fire companies." According to Chappell, there were five volunteer and private fire companies operating within the city. "There was no governing body, they didn't answer to city council, the mayor, or anything like that," he said. "Fire stations were a place that members of the community could gather, much like a tavern, there were rather rowdy parties that would happen from time to time. "I'm going to speculate that that was one of the motivating factors for city council at the time to curtail some of that behavior. They decided to streamline everything and make the fire department an official entity of the city government which happened in 1894." Chappell said one of the original fire stations the department would have been operating from when the fire department became part of the city government was where the city finance office is now, 53 E. Market St. Station 2, 401 N. Washington St., was in the same space in 1894, however, the station was later torn down and rebuilt. "We've been in this station now for 85 years," he said of station 1, 53 S. Monroe St. "The bell that we have in our hose tour is the same bell that was used to sound the alarm for the Great Tiffin Fire of 1872." Fighting fires over the years When fire departments were first organized in the city, there were bucket brigades. "Each home had its own bucket and when the bell would ring announcing that there was a fire, people were expected to come out with their buckets and contribute ... ," Chappell explained. "They moved more and more to the horsedrawn steamer engines where they would have a coal fire engine that would heat up. Then it would build pressure to pump water out to the hoses." Eventually, the steamer engines became more mechanized, moving toward the modern-day fire engine and hoses. "Certainly, the fire service in Tiffin has changed a lot from 1894 to today," Chappell said. "The equipment has gotten bigger and heavier. The adoption and integration of EMS into the fire service here in 1997 was a really significant change in the recent history." "Things like responding to car accidents, HAZMAT (hazardous materials) incidents, tactical EMS are all things that were never part of the fire service and were never really thought about," Chappell said of other changes through the years. Another change in firefighting was the transition from saving things around a fire rather than keeping the fire from spreading. "Today, its common that if we get called in early enough to a fire, we can be there fast enough to extinguish a fire to where it's just a single room that has fire damage as opposed to losing an entire block of houses, perhaps." What's next in 2024 Chappell said a big focus for the department this year is determining what its needs will be for a new fire station. "We've been working on trying to build a new fire station," he explained. "The need for a fire station on the west end (of town) has been talked about since the 60s. Our call volume continues to grow in that area as well." "Our big focus is trying to make sure that we have a proper plan in place to aid us with the design and location of a new fire station that will meet the needs of the city for the next 50 years. That's a difficult task in itself, determining what the fire service will look like in the next 50 years." The department's biggest request for equipment will be through FEMA's Assistance for Firefighters grant where it is looking to replace its self-containing breathing apparatuses which are currently 10 years old. The grant request is approximately $300,000. Notable fires - Following are excerpts from the History of Tiffin Fire Department 1843-1993 discusses the event: The Great Fire of 1872 "The Great Fire of 1872 began in the oldest part of the city on the Fort Ball/Oakley side of the River," it reads. "It began on a warm, very windy Saturday, April 13, 1872. It began at the northwest corner of S. Sandusky and Miami streets, McNeal's Store." "The McNeal's denied reports that the fire was started by a candle-making project when a spark ignited the roof of the home and in the gale winds spread to the roof of the store, but insisted it had to have started from a discarded cigar or ashes from a smoking pipe." Hopple Handle Factory fire. The 1917 "Tiffin" Chemical Hose Truck can be seen to the right. Photo provided Hopple Handle Factory – 1924 "At about noon on November 19th, a fire erupted in the straw storage shed of the Hopple Handle Factory and, with the aid of the wind quickly involved the tons of dry straw and hay stored in the straw shed and barn," it reads. "It is thought that someone passing through the building carelessly flipped a cigarette into straw and it burned unobserved for some time before being discovered." St. Joseph's Church after the fire/ The photo, taken from the choir loft, the light of day reveled the damage when the roof burned off and collapsed into the nave. Photo provided St. Joseph's Church – 1934 "It was about 5:30 in the morning and John Fraley was hurrying to St. Joseph's church to ring the "Angelus" and looked up to see fire coming from the bell tower," it reads. "At about the same time, Albert "Jake" Sauber, Tiffin policeman notice tiny wisps of flames emerging from the steeple. Within minutes, Tiffin firemen arrived on the scene and knew that "the monster was loose" and was devouring the church which, since the Civil War was a part of the City's history. Riedy's Red Steer. Taken from the roof of the court hose, this photo shows the fire being controlled in the building to the south of the restaurant/lounge. Photo provided Riedy's Red Steer Restaurant – 1975 "Fire, thought to have originated in the kitchen of the restaurant at 72 S. Washington St., eventually left the three-story structure in ruins, destroyed two other businesses and inflicted damage on the adjoining business to the north, Sayger's Enterprises Co.," it reads. "This building, housing a number of businesses over the early years of Tiffin, was in "Commercial Row" the original main business district of the growing city." A photo of the Shawhan Hotel is taken from the courthouse clock tower. A-T Archives Shawhan Hotel – 1976 "At 5:53 p.m., on a very cold, blustery evening, workers at the clean-up project in the Sayger's Camera and Photo Shop at 70 S. Washington St., cleaning up after a fire struck the second floor vacant apartment, learned that the stock that they had moved temporarily to the Shawhan Hotel was being threatened by fire," it reads. "Numerous fires, ignited on the upper floors by an arsonist, now threatening one of Tiffin's well known landmarks." Notable fires from 2020-2023 Seneca Tiles – 2020 "At about 12:06 a.m. Dec. 20, local emergency services received a call reporting a fire at Seneca Tiles at 7100 S. CR 23," read the article Fire Ravages Seneca Tiles in the A-T. "Bloomville Fire and EMS, Echo, Republic Fire, Attica Fire, Tiffin Fire Rescue Division, Bascom Joint Fire District, Green Springs Fire, Sycamore Fire and Crawford Fire responded. The fire resulted in a total loss of the business. No injuries have been reported at this time." Paper and Ink/Burwell building fire – 2021 "At about 3:22 a.m. Saturday, Tiffin Fire Rescue Division received a call from the Burwell Building, 98 S. Washington St., which houses Paper and Ink, regarding a fire that had broken out," read the article Early Morning blaze at Paper and Ink in Tiffin in the A-T. "Upon arriving at the scene, first responders worked to find and evacuate all of the residents. By 4:18 a.m., all of the residents had been accounted for." Tiffin Cab Company – 2023 "Firefighters battled a blaze at 16 E. Perry St. all afternoon Tuesday and into the early evening," read the A-T article Cab co. building catches fire. "The fire at the Tiffin Service Cab building was called in at about 12:30 p.m. and firefighters were still on the scene at press time. The building was engulfed in flames when the fire department arrived there, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation."