Overview of the Collection
Historical NoteA Fire Department was established by City Charter in 1883. It provided for equipment purchases, but not for hiring of firefighters. Following the Great Fire of 1889, a professional fire department was created with five district fire stations and purchase of a fire boat. The first Fire Chief of the professional department was Gardner Kellogg, who served 1890-1892 and 1895-1901. A Board of Fire Commissioners was established by the 1890 City Charter to prescribe rules and regulations for the Department. The Board's responsibilities included enforcing rules violations and appointing the Fire Chief and all subordinate officers. The Board was abolished with passage of a new City Charter in 1896. Content DescriptionRecords of positions held, promotions, disciplines taken, civil service investigations, and extracurricular activities on behalf of the Fire Department. The records provide glimpses into the employees’ personal lives, especially in the 1910s and 1920s, as the files include explanations for tardiness, communications with debtors, and reasons for resignations. Excuses for tardiness include waiting 35 minutes for a street car, mother did not wake him up, or slipping on car rail and straining back while about to board the car to come to work. One employee was written up in 1905, in part, for wearing the same clothes around the station as he wore cleaning the stables and “the men do not like to sleep in the same room with him.” Some of the employees performed in musical groups for the Department, sometimes at no charge and other times at events organized to raise funds for the Fire Department. The Department had a band and an orchestra at various times; the band performed at the Seattle Day and Washington State Day ceremonies at the Panama-Pacific Exposition in 1915. The personnel files cover employees who worked less than a year to those who worked more than 50 years. Women began working in the department as clerical workers in larger numbers in the late 1950s. Most worked for a years or less; the files record their reasons for leaving which include pregnancy, to attend school, health, or “to seek more suitable employment.” An excellent source for genealogy, the Personnel Records contain information about how the Department functioned as well as insight into the lives of the employees in the Department. Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
Records are open to the public. Preferred Citation :[Item and date], Seattle Fire Department Personnel Records, Record Series 2802-06. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives. Administrative InformationDetailed Description of the CollectionThe following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
SubjectsThis collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Finding aid prepared by Anne
Frantilla
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