In 1875 a group of civic-minded men organized a
volunteer fire department which, in the years that followed, did its very
best with primitive equipment and meager water pressure to cope with the
many serious fires that plagued the city.
In the days before cities like Modesto had professional firemen and
modern fire equipment, the volunteer fire department was an honored civic
organization. The men of highest standing in the community…judges,
lawyers, mechanics, merchants and clergy men…took pride in their
membership.
In 1881, nearly all the business houses on Ninth Street (The Front)
were destroyed by fire. In 1884, all the properties between 9th and 11th
streets were burned, and in 1899 another fire would have destroyed a large
part of the business district except for the fact the city had finally
installed fire hydrants with enough pressure to keep the fire barely under
control.
The last big fire of old Modesto occurred in 1901 when the wooden
shacks on and near the corner of 11th and I streets were
destroyed, and the last vestiges of the original business district were
wiped out.
George E. Wallace was prevailed upon
to join the Volunteers in 1909. In 1910, he became a regular-paid fireman.
His equipment still consisted of handcarts, but a new team of dapple-gray
horses, "Prince" and "Charlie", had been purchased by
the City. In 1912, the first piece of modern fire equipment was bought, a
Pope Hartford hose and chemical truck. George Wallace was Fire Chief for
39 Years
Excerpts from the "Modesto Journal"
Stanislaus Centennial Edition, May 19, 1948
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