Golden Volunteer Fire Department
From Golden Memories 2000
Golden Volunteer Fire Department
The mountain community of Golden has one of the oldest organized Fire Protection Brigades in British Columbia. A community meeting was held at the Columbia House in February 1898 to discuss and form a fire brigade. May 26th 1898 Golden’s Fire Fighters were officially incorporated to become the Golden Fire Engine Association Limited. The first Fire Chief was a gentleman by the name of G.B. McDermot. After, Golden’s fire brigade bought a rolling steam engine to help supply water for Fire Protection.
The first fire hall in Golden, built prior to 1898, was on the northeast end of the Kicking Horse bridge. It was a two-story building with a tower that housed a large brass bell. The fire hall was destroyed by fire in 1921.
The bell was recovered from the ruins, by Chief Harry Parson who kept the bell until his death. The fire department then presented the bell to Bill Wenman in recognition of fifty years of service to the department. In 1980, Bill moved into Durant Manor and Bill kindly gave the bell back to the fire department, where it now holds a place of honor in the current fire department lounge.
After the loss of the original hall in 1921, there was no hall for over twenty years. The volunteer fire brigade was called together by the Columbia River Lumber Company’s mill whistle. The mill supplied water through wooden pipes to three hydrants located in town, to which the volunteers hooked up hoses carried by hand-drawn carts. The CRL mill closed in 1927, leaving the town with only a bucket brigade for Fire Protection.
After World War II, water was pumped from wells by a gas-powered pump supplied by the federal government for the air raid protection volunteers. In May 1945 a public meeting was called and a volunteer fire brigade was formed with George Keenleyside as Fire Chief, and George Marrs as deputy fire chief. The fire hall was established in a garage supplied by George Keenleyside, located beside the P. Burns and Company butcher shop on the north side of the Kicking HHorse bridge. The first piece of apparatus purchased by the Fire Brigade was a Model A Ford truck. Purchased from Thompson Motors for a hundred and eighty-eight dollars and eighty cents the truck was used to pull a trailer, upon which was mounted the gas-powered pump. The next apparatus was a 1952 Ford Pumper. New truck necessitated a larger hall, so the fire department was relocated to the old Weston dressware building located between the present big Bend Hotel and the Moon Café.
A siren was purchased and placed on top of the building, with a switch placed on the power pole below to activate the siren.
In 1954 Ted Jacobson was appointed Fire Chief with Ray Drown as Deputy Fire Chief. At this time the first two breathing apparatuses were purchased.
1957 Golden was incorporated, and another move for the fire department. This time it was to the lower level of the town office. Tom Sime became Fire Chief with Ken Pickett as deputy fire chief in 1962 and soon retired and Lloyd Shipley became the deputy fire chief.
Fire phones were installed in the homes of seven volunteer firefighters. These phones activated the fire siren. In 1977 the town purchased a building from the Overwaitea Company, which was then renovated by the volunteer firefighters into the present facility. This building has proven ideal for the fire hall, allowing for the expansion of equipment and training activities. In 1969 the department purchased a King Seagraves 625 GPM triple combination pumper. In 1979 Golden purchased again another new TCP pumper, a superior with a pump capacity of 840 gallons per minute. The volunteers threw various fundraising activities were able to purchase and add an equipment van to their fleet. This van was used to carry Tum-Out gear and other equipment to the fire scene. The next major addition to the department equipment was a radio paging system which now provided immediate call out of up to 30 volunteers who make up the current force.
In November 1980, Tom Sime retired after 33 years of dedicated service in the department. Lloyd Shibley became the fire chief with Doug Fairbanks as Deputy Fire Chief. During Lloyd’s 13 years as chief, he was supported by Len Pettman, Brian Englehart, Grant Sime and Earl Russell as Deputy Fire Chiefs. During this time Chief Shibley perched and purchased another TCP to add to the current fleet. The newest acquisition, a superior with a 1050 gallons per minute pump and a 500 gallon water tank. This unit was state of the art for its time.
January 12th, 1994, Lloyd decided to hand the reins of the fire department over to Earl Russell. George Keenleyside, accepted the position of Deputy Fire Chief,. The fire department was moving along smoothly until the closure of the Evans Mill in Donald. In the spring of 1996 Earl decided to move his family to Lillooet, BC and George Keenleyside managed the fire department as in-term fire chief.
In March of 1996, all the Golden firefighters met with Golden’s municipal council. The discussion was the hiring of a paid Fire Chief for Golden. Certification was all the new standards and regulations, legislative rulings and the need to have a paid fire chief in Golden were reviewed.
In April 1996 Golden hired its first paid Fire Chief Muir Furzer, a retired professional firefighter from the military who arrived with his family from Mass at BC. Chief Furser’s position with the Golden Fire Department started as a halftime paid position, but it was soon quickly realized that he needed to be advanced into a full-time job. His knowledge and professional expertise was the cornerstone in improving the skill level of all the volunteers.
Chief Furzer, and Deputy Chief Raymond Johnson’s new challenge will be to bring the Golden Fire Department into the 21st century. Technological changes, new legislation and equipment acquisition are a priority. Also, the planned expansion of the town as we see the development of a four seasons resort within our growing and vibrant community.
In August 1998 the Golden Fire Department held a reunion to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of organized Fire Protection in Golden. Firefighter alumni from many points in BC return to Golden, to renew friendships, recall memories, and enjoy the fellowship that only firefighters understand. The present members of the Golden Fire Department are proud to carry on the traditions of dedicated service to Golden which was started back in 1898.