A FIREMAN'S FIREMAN

On January 3, 1901, Firefighter Herman Hanke, the driver of Truck 4, was taking a bath on the upper floor in quarters, when an alarm rang in for a fire at 82 Darcy Street, between Westcott and Ashbridge Streets.

The horses ran to their harnesses, the men boarded the rig, and Captain O’Brien was just about to mount the driver’s seat when Hanke slid down the pole totally naked and jumped up into the driver’s seat. He threw on his rubber coat, only partially closing it, and tripped the release lever for the doors. This all happened so quickly, that it caught Captain O’Brien totally off guard, and he barely had time to jump onto the rear of the rig as it dashed out of quarters.

Within a minute, Hanke’s hair was frozen solid, as he had not even taken the time to put on a cap. With one bare foot on the brake, and the other on the apparatus gong, he sent the rig flying in answer to the alarm.

Halfway to the alarm, an elder countryman became confused and stopped his horse and wagon right in the path of the oncoming truck. Hanke skillfully maneuvered the horses around the wagon, with the tillerman just as skillfully maneuvering the rear of the truck around the stopped wagon. Without missing a beat, Truck 4 continued to the alarm.

Upon arriving at the fire, Hanke was supplied with a pair of rubber boots and another coat. Short work was made of the blaze and he was given another coat to wrap around his legs for the trip back to quarters, where he resumed his bath upon returning.