Olympia’s Firefighters Needed Rubber Suits, Beds—and a Paycheck
An editorial urges the city to equip, house and compensate its firemen, noting that volunteers had spent their own money and lost clothing fighting the steamer Eastern Oregon fire.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
While much discussion is centering on the city government, the fire department must not be overlooked. The firemen should be encouraged to proficiency by receiving recognition both from the city council and the people. How many fires are checked by a few citizens who volunteer to protect the property of the public and who are compelled to use personal funds for necessaries which should be furnished out of the public treasury. The firemen need rubber suits; they need better fire apparatus, better accommodations and sleeping apartments at headquarters for such as are without homes, so that they can be on hand the instant an alarm is sounded.
In short, they should be compensated for their services. Where possible, let those whose property is saved bear a portion of the expense. The firemen not only suffered great hardship on the cold, rainy night when the steamer Eastern Oregon burned, but many of them were at a personal loss in the destruction of their garments. The Oregon Improvement Company ought to have courtesy enough to do something for the firemen, and the city is expected to do its share.
“The firemen need rubber suits; they need better fire apparatus, better accommodations and sleeping apartments at the headquarters... In short, they should be compensated for their services.”
Cities still ask firefighters to risk their lives while arguing over budgets for equipment and pay. This 1891 editorial’s demand—equip them, house them, compensate them—echoes current debates over public safety staffing and who bears the cost of protection.
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