Salem Fire Department: An Overview

Salem, Oregon’s first fire company, Alert Hook and Ladder was formed in 1857. Alert Hook and Ladder’s firefighters fought fire with leather buckets filled with water, ladders, and a few basic hand tools.

In 1865, Salem purchased a hand-operated fire engine and 300 feet of leather fire hose to form Capital Engine Company No.1. Tiger Engine Company No. 2. was added in 1869, and Salem Engine Company No. 3 followed in 1883.

Tiger Engine Company No. 3 was the first to switch to a steam fire engine in 1883. Without horses it was necessary to hand pull the 10,000 pound fire engine to the fire or borrow a team of available horses. Once at the fire the steam driven fire pump could provide a fire stream that rivals modern fire equipment. In 1886 Capital Engine Company No. 1 was equipped with Salem’s second and last steam engine.

In 1893, Salem utilized the labor savings of horse drawn steam operated fire engines and was able to reduce the 220 man volunteer force to 14 paid firefighters. Volunteer firefighters would continue to respond to fires for a number of years before finally disbanding, but the need for the large volunteer force left the volunteers little to do at the fire scene. A select number of apprentice firefighters known as “Call Men” would continue to volunteer until 1923 when the department was able to maintain a fully paid force.

1919 marks the end of the horse-drawn era for Salem Fire Department. Held in reserve for large fires, Salem Fire Department’s last use of a steam powered fire engine was in 1935 when the State Capital burned to the ground.

From 1893 until 1921 Salem’s paid firefighters were always on duty. In 1921 a two-platoon system was established so that firefighters worked every other day, an 84 hour work week. In 1953 firefighters fought for and received the three-platoon system they use to this day, a 56-hour work week.

Salem Fire Department’s only line-of-duty-death occurred in 1935 when Floyd McMullen, a volunteer “sleeper” was struck and killed by falling debris at the Oregon State Capitol Fire.

In 1980 Salem Fire Department began providing ambulance service to Salem. All Salem paramedics maintain certification in Advanced Cardiac Life Support, Pediatric PreHospital Care, and PreHospital Trauma Life Support. Since 1980 firefighter paramedics work alternating 24 hour sifts on the ambulances and fire engines.

Today Salem Fire Department has a paid staff of 153 line firefighters divided into A, B, and C shifts. During large incidents, the 51 firefighters on duty can be supplemented with off duty firefighters and mutual aid firefighters and equipment from surrounding fire departments.

Over the past 146 years the mission of Salem Fire Department has grown from fire suppression to a myriad of technical services that include:

  • Fire Prevention Education
  • Building Plan Review
  • Building Inspection
  • Fire Investigation
  • Paramedic ambulance service
  • Hazardous materials response
  • Urban Search and Rescue
  • High Angle Rescue
  • Confined space rescue
  • Water rescue
  • SWAT medics
  • Wildland firefighting Disaster preparedness

To learn more about the history of Salem Fire Department, please click on one of the hyperlinks in the column to the right. To learn more about today’s Salem Fire Department, please follow the link below to Salem Fire Department’s web page.

Researched and written by Larry Blumenstein

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Bibliography:

Salem Fire Department 1857-1904, Published in the interest of The Relief Fund, Statesman Job Office

History of the Salem, Oregon Fire Department: the volunteer era 1857 to 1893, Wilkerson

Photo Credit:

Drawing of SFD Seal copied with permission from a Salem Fire Department Exempt Certificate owned by R. J. Simpson (grandchild of Salem Fire Department Chief J. H. Haas – 1884)

This article originally appeared on the original Salem Online History site and has not been updated since 2006.