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Wednesday March 10, 2010 (16:37:40 EST) |
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HISTORY
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| Since its inception in 1792, bucket brigades were the original fire fighting force for Winchester. The first fire engine which we can trace in our city archives was an old hand machine. Water was poured from buckets and then pumped onto the fire by hand. |  In 1838, the city trustees realized that inadequate fire fighting equipment and undisciplined firemen were no longer adequate to protect the growing town. Winchester placed a tax levy to purchase a new hand engine in February of that year. When the new engine arrived it was called the old 'Rough & Ready'. A decade later the Kentucky General Assembly allowed Winchester to charter the Rough and Ready Fire Company dubbed after the hand engine. This new company worked under strict rules of conduct for fire fighting. The law made it clear 'Indisputably duty of each member of said company, when alarms of fire are given, to meet promptly, with their engine, buckets, and other apparatus, the same; and shall, in all cases, render obedience to the officers of said company'. |  As Winchester grew rapidly, they realized they needed a first class steam engine. Around 1886, they purchased a horse drawn Silsby Steam Engine with the capacity of four hundred gallons per minute. In 1909, a brand new Webb Hose Truck was purchased. It was told to be one of the first motorized engines in our state. The engine house was located on Fairfax Street (Lexington Ave). In 1912, the back of the firehouse burned and they moved to what is currently Winchester City Hall. Another move came in 1975 when we moved to our current location on Maple Street. |
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