Lakewood Lore

One horse-drawn wagon was city's first fire unit

Fire protection here began in the summer of 1902. The hamlet of Lakewood bought a hose wagon for $1,207 and made a contract for a team of horses with J. A. Mastick, who operated a funeral parlor at the northeast corner of Detroit and St. Charles avenues.

The agreement was that Mastick would maintain the fire equipment and keep his team and two men in readiness at all times for $80 a month, plus $4 per man for each fire. When the horses were not being used to fight fires, they would pull the undertaker's funeral hearse.

This arrangement continued until 1910 when a regular fire department under control of the city's administration was established. Eyner Buhl became the first fire chief at a salary of $80 a month. His assistants, William Curry, Jacob Hennie and Henry Bulky, received $60 a month, and some volunteer firemen were given 50 cents an hour for helping.

At the same time, the hose wagon was moved from Mastick's to a barn in the rear of the former Tegardine home at Detroit and Warren. The home itself had just been acquired to be used as City Hall.

In 1911, Lakewood bought its first motor-driven fire apparatus. The following year, the department was reorganized with Joseph H. Speddy replacing Buhl as chief.

In 1913, a two-story brick building, which is still in use as Station No. 1, was built on the old barn site to accomodate both the fire and police departments. Chief Speddy died in 1931 and C. A. Delaney was named to take his place.

By 1934, there were 67 firemen and three fire stations. For the sixth consecutive year, Lakewood took the national award for fire prevention for cities of comparable size.

Jay V. Redmond succeeded Chief Delaney in 1954, and Byron C. Cook replaced Chief Redmond in 1969. Two months after Chief Cook retired at the end of 1984, current Chief Lawrence D. (Larry) Mroz was appointed to the post.

Today's fire department, a far piece from the one at the turn of the century, comprises four pumpers, one hook and ladder, and one snorkel, plus seven support vehicles. There are 75 uniformed personnel, including Chief Mroz, three assistant chiefs, 12 captains, one fire marshal and one fire inspector.

While Lakewood always has excelled in fire protection, some old-timers still remember a couple of severe conflagrations. One was at Edgewater Lumber Co., at Highland and the Nickel Plate tracks, that started on Dec. 4, 1919, and burned for three days. A second was at the Kundtz Lumber Co. between Giel and Bunts that began May 21, 1920, and lasted two days.

This Lakewood Lore article by Dan Chabek appeared in the Lakewood Sun Post May 11, 1989.

Reprinted with permission.

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