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Fire fighting in Farmersville, soon to be Athens consisted of formation of a bucket brigade, after the fire discovery. The Fire Bell would be rung, then residents, men and women alike would form a long line with one or two men filling buckets at the well. Filled buckets would be passed down the line to the fire, where the last person would throw the water on the fire, then return the empty bucket back down the line, to be refilled. Imagine this type of activity on a major fire.
On December 23, 1890 the residents of the newly named Athens, gathered at Lamb's Hall to hear the sales pitch of Mr. Parson of the Brussels Steam Fire Engine Works. The salesman gave the price of $4000.00 and the terms of sale. That same night, the meeting yielded a petition which was to be presented to Village Council.
Three and a half years later, on May 10, 1894, the Village took delivery of a small red fire engine. Nine days later, it got its first baptism. Someone had loaned the Village a 100 feet of hose, and a few of the residents had tried the engine, to see how far it would pump water. However, no crew had been organized, or plans made to organize one.
At 5:00am May 19 the cry of "Fire" was heard. Several people responded by taking the engine from behind Lamb's store to a nearby well. The fire was well started. A stream of water was played on the fire. Then the well went dry. The engine was quickly repositioned across the street to another well. When the fire was out, 3 sheds, 2 houses, four barns, part of the Gamble House, a harness shop, the Post Office and a millinery shop were destroyed. Fire services in the Village had begun.
The first engine had to be pushed to the fire scene, and then be connected to a nearby source of water, most likely a well (wells would be dug at that time). On each side of the engine was a long bar. To get water onto the fire, it was necessary to "pump" these long bars up and down. Often men and women worked side by side, to keep the bars going up and down, in a steady motion, providing water pressure to the hose. One would often hear "Pump Harder" or "Pump Faster", requesting a faster pumping action. Imagine the exhaustion of this work.
In the next ten years, Villagers with the help of Village Council began building a series of underground reservoirs. Initially the residents built and paid for their own. After a public meeting in January 1904 Council agreed to pay $15.00 of the $60.00 cost, with nearby residents paying the rest of the cost for the 12 x 18 x 12 foot deep tanks (rock permitting).
In 1905, just after the Athens Public School burned, the Village purchased a larger fire engine called "Old Invincible". There was room for about 16 men on the pump, 8 men on each side. The pump worked by raising and lowering the long pump bars running the length of the engine. It was backbreaking work, and frequent changes of volunteers were necessary.
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