The first mention of an organized fire service in Kingstree came in February1873, shortly after a fire destroyed much of the block of Main Street across from the Williamsburg County Courthouse. At that time, the state of South Carolina granted a charter to the Pioneer Hook & Ladder Company of Kingstree. However, it appears that the company didn't last.
This presumably is "Our Pet," Kingstree's first horse-drawn fire wagon.
The Kingstree "fire laddies" won the horse at right in a contest in Orangeburg in 1910.
Source: Williamsburg County: A Pictorial History
In 1898, The County Record printed an editorial bemoaning the lack of a fire department in Kingstree. It noted that insurance rates were extremely high, so much so that it would soon be difficult to insure anything in the city limits of Kingstree. The paper argued that the amount citizens saved on insurance premiums would soon pay for the amount needed to set up a fire department.
No further mention of a fire department organizing is seen until 1901. On Friday evening, April 5, a large group of local men met at Brockington Drug Store on the corner of Main and Academy streets to form a local hook & ladder company, to be known as Kingstree Hook & Ladder #1. The men appointed W.R. Funk fire chief, with C.D. Jacobs as assistant chief. E.L. Smith was the company foreman, and attorney C.E. St. Amand was the secretary/treasurer. Dr. W.V. "Jack" Brockington would serve as surgeon.
A little over a year later, on July 10, 1902, lightning struck the stables and buggy house of Thomas & Bradham, located behind Barr's Hotel on Main Street, near the Courthouse Square. The fire was so large that it could be seen 10 miles from Kingstree, and only the direction of the wind saved the hotel for burning, as well. This fire was the catalyst for town council's adopting an ordinance regulating the construction of buildings and chimneys, particularly in the downtown area.
Two years later, on February 15, 1904, the Mt. Zion Methodist Episcopal Church, located on Main Street near the river was the victim of apparent arson. There had been a disagreement within the church, and it was felt that the arson stemmed from this. Kingstree's African-American chapter of the Odd Fellows had their hall next door to the church, and the fraternal organization agreed to allow the church to use its building after the fire. Then, on May 6, that building, as well as the school next door to it attended by the town's Black children also fell victim to arson. The Governor of South Carolina offered a reward for any information regarding the arsonists. These fires prompted the town council to build brick and cement reservoirs at the public artesian wells to help provide more water for fire suppression.
A few months later, on July 5, the stables at the rear of the Coleman House Hotel on Main Street caught fire, endangering the hotel. The bucket brigade sacrificed the stables to save the hotel and surrounding buildings. The County Record used this fire to push the town to buy a horse-drawn fire engine and to form a fire company, citing that now that the town had reservoirs, the next step should be the purchase of a fire engine. Town Council responded in early September by buying a fire engine which arrived at the end of the month. In October, council bought 500 feet of hose to equip it.
On October 18, 1904, Town Councilman H.A. Meyer held a meeting in the law offices of Stoll & Stoll to organize a fire company. Fifteen men enrolled in the Wee Nee Fire Company. Meyer was the President; Saul Marcus, Vice President; and Philip Stoll, Secretary. They were to have once a week hose drills, and Stoll was instructed to solicit more members for the company.
Six months later, in April 1905, W.W. Battiste's home on Hampton Avenue caught fire, pointing out the inefficiencies of the town's fire-fighting system. The new fire engine, which the firefighters had named "Our Pet," and the hose were hauled to the scene but a lack of water in that part of town made them ineffective. The bucket brigade was unable to save the Battiste house, but they were able to save the Episcopal Church next door, which caught fire in half a dozen places.
Hampton Avenue, with the Episcopal Church at left. The Battiste house
may be the yellow house beside the church in this photo.
The year 1906 ended with a massive fire on Main Street on December 31. All the buildings from the Courthouse west to Jail (now Jackson) Street burned. This included what was once Barr's Hotel, but was by then known as the Central Hotel and three other storefronts, including Dr. Wallace's drugstore. The County Record noted, "As usual, the engine "Our Pet" came prancing to the scene after the fire had burned itself out."
Several months later, on Monday, March 18, 1907, fire broke out in Meyer's Bakery at the rear of Scott & Miller's Market on the north side of East Main Street. The fire department was able to confine the fire to three wooden buildings between P.S. Courtney's store and the store owned by G. Ollie Epps on the corner of Main Street and Hampton Avenue. Three days later, the fire department re-organized yet again. This time, M.H. Jacobs was named chief, with W.E. James foreman of the nozzle; Tom McCutchen, foreman of the hook & ladder; and F.W. Fairey, pumping foreman. The Town of Kingstree agreed to refund the "foot tax" of every member of the fire department and to pay then $1 for every fire they worked.
M.H. "Uncle Monty" Jacobs
Source: Williamsburgh Historical Museum
In the summer of 1907, a gentleman named P.G. Howe was in town demonstrating his Howe Fire Engine which worked either by hand or with a gasoline motor attached. The town was interested in the machine, but apparently did not buy one.
On Sunday afternoon, May 18, 1908, a fire was discovered in Lesesne & Thompson's shop, located at the rear of Meyer's Bakery, which had relocated to the corner of Main & Academy streets after the March 1907 fire. The wooden building housing the bakery and Lesene & Thompson was destroyed, as was the general merchandise store of T.J. Pendergrass, one of the town's leading Black merchants.
A year later, on May 4, 1909, fire destroyed O.H. Patrick's home on Academy Street, prompting The County Record to note, "Anyone who was at the fire could readily see how badly Kingstree needs an up-to-date fire department with an available amount of water... and it is to be hoped that the city fathers will look into the matter in the near future."
In November of that year, the town was experimenting with a chemical fire extinguishing apparatus. It would not take the place of "Our Pet," the department said, but it could help contain fires until "Our Pet" arrived at the scene. The chemical engine got its first test when Young's Ice Cream Palace on Main Street caught fire. The machine worked very well, quickly extinguishing the fire, and in January 1910, Town Council bought two of the chemical engines for $500.
Saturday, December 17, 1910, started out as a busy Christmas shopping day in downtown Kingstree. Around mid-day, L.D. Rodgers was showing fireworks to a customer when one exploded, setting fire to the store and sending thick smoke belching from the building. The two chemical engines were employed and kept the fire from spreading until "Our Pet" arrived. Although not officially part of the fire department, a number of the town's Black residents worked tirelessly, pumping water from the reservoir into the hose to keep a constant stream of water directed at the fire. Several hundred spectators gathered, wondering if the newly-completed buildings that had replaced those lost in the fire of 1907 would also be reduced to ashes. The fire, however, was contained in the Rodgers store, and The County Record later noted that the reservoir at the well in the middle of the intersection of Main and Academy streets was instrumental in getting the fire out.
The James Brockington House at the head of Academy Street.
Almost a year later, shortly after midnight on Sunday, November 5, 1911, a Kingstree landmark was destroyed by fire. The old Brockinton home at the head of Academy Street was lost in a large blaze. The house was then owned by the Rev. W.S. Martin and rented by W.E. Jenkinson. Mr. Jenkinson was able to save the piano, but all other furnishings were lost, and he suffered a severely mashed foots for his efforts. The fire was so hot, that a number of trees in the yard were severely scorched, and it was thought that they, too, would not survive.
The next week, the Kingstree Fire Department again re-organized. This time it made notable structural changes. Although Black residents had joined bucket brigades and most recently operated the pump at fires, they had never been allowed to be a formal part of the fire department. The department now organized a Black fire company to be in charge of getting "Our Pet" to fires and making sure there was water to operate it.
During the early years of the community, the sextons of the three churches on Academy Street tolled the church bells as a fire alarm. Apparently, by the early 1900s, the means of sounding the alarm had become the shooting of pistols. However, as it was not uncommon to hear gunfire on the streets of Kingstree in the early days of the 20th Century, The County Record noted, "It leads one to wonder how residents distinguish gun shots used as a fire alarm from "sounds of disorder."
The Nettles Hotel, scene of a 1913 fire, is now known as the Marcus Building.
On January 31, 1913, the night policeman discovered a fire in the old Nettles Hotel above Jenkinson Brothers and Milhous & Jennings on Main Street. The Hotel, while still leased by S.A. Nettles, was no longer functioning as a hotel but was used for overflow from the Kellahan Hotel and was also used for storage. Several rooms had recently been rented by a family as housing. This would be the first test of the performance of the town's new municipal water system during a fire. Fifty thousand gallons of water were dumped on the fire, confining it to the old hotel, leaving the ground floor unharmed by the fire, although there was considerable water damage to the merchandise in both first-floor stores.
Firefighter Greg Ward dusts one of the fire trucks.
The Kingstree Fire Department will soon occupy its new building on Longstreet St.
Through the years, the Kingstree Fire Department has continued to make improvements and to grow. Today as the department prepares to move into brand new quarters, Chief Tim Duke has eight paid staff members and 29 volunteer firefighters. The Town of Kingstree has a Class 3 Insurance Services Office (ISO) rating, the impact of which is still seen in lower fire insurance premiums. The department answers between 400 and 600 calls a year, according to Assistant Fire Chief Jeremy Morris.
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