Guide to the Board of Fire Commissioners Minutes 1890-1896

Overview of the Collection

	Repository Name:		Seattle Municipal Archives PO Box 94728 600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 3 Seattle, WA 98124-4728 Phone: 206/233-7807 Email: archives@seattle.gov http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives
	Collection Number:		2800-01
	Creator:		Seattle (Wash.). Board of Fire Commissioners
	Title:		Minutes
	Dates:		1890-1896 (inclusive)
	Quantity:		1 volume
	Languages:		Collection materials are in English.
	Summary:		Proceedings of Board of Fire Commissioners meetings, 1890-1896.

Historical Note

A Board of Fire Commissioners, consisting of the mayor and four elected fire commissioners who served four-year terms, was established by the 1890 Seattle City Charter. The Board created rules and regulations for the Fire Department, enforced penalties for rules violations, and appointed the Fire Chief. The Chief then appointed all subordinate officers of the Department. The Board had the power to terminate the Fire Chief or any subordinate employee.

Further responsibilities of the Board included making reports to the City Council regarding the operations of the Department, including statistics on the number of alarms responded to, fire damages, and the expenses of the Department.

The Board was abolished with passage of a new City Charter in 1896.

Content Description

Minutes of the Board of Fire Commissioners, 1890-1896, report proceedings of Board meetings. Included are resolutions and policy decisions made by the Board and appointments for such positions as Chief of the Fire Department, Superintendent of Fire Alarms, Chemical Engineer, and fire fighters. Board actions taken in dealing with Fire Department employees, including applications for positions as well as resignations and disciplinary actions, are also discussed. An alphabetical index at the front of the volume lists the names of persons mentioned in the minutes as well as topics of interest.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access

Records are open to the public.

Preferred Citation

[Item and date], Board of Fire Commissioners Minutes, Record Series 2800-01. Seattle Municipal Archives.

Subjects

This 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.

Seattle (Wash.). Board of Fire Commissioners

Seattle (Wash.). Fire Dept.

Seattle (Wash.)--Politics and government

Fire chiefs--Selection and appointment--Washington (State)--Seattle

Fire departments--Washington (State)--Seattle

Fire fighters--Dismissal of--Washington (State)--Seattle

Fire fighters--Selection and appointment--Washington (State)--Seattle

Fire fighters--Washington (State)--Seattle

Minutes

Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

volume
1

Board of Fire Commissioners Minutes

Overview of the Collection

Repository Name:

Collection Number:

Creator:

Title:

Dates:

Quantity:

Languages:

Summary:

Historical Note

Content Description

Use of the Collection

Subjects

Detailed Description of the Collection