| VOLUNTEER
FIREMEN. Below is a rare photo of one of San Francisco's early volunteer fire brigades--taken sometime in the 1880s. The Exempt Company was so-called because its members could claim exemption from jury duty and state militia service. The stylish top hats, bowler hats, and Prince Albert coats indicate the affluence of these aging professionals and businessmen and the special prestige that volunteer brigades held in a largely wooden city that suffered six major fires prior to the devastating earthquake and fire of 1906. |
 San Francisco Chronicle 1939 |
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The two men at
the top are standing on the brigade's symmetrical fire engine, whose carriage wheels can be seen behind the legs of the men in the front
row. The ornate pillar with scrolls on its sides and a figured painting
on its front is not part of the building facade;
it's the water tank of the fire engine. The hand-pumped fire hoses
were attached to the curved water pipes on the top. The pump handles
are below and to either side.
The short man with the handle bar moustache, fifth in from the right, is William Larkins, the carriage maker. Larkins and Co. is known to have built fire engines and this is probably one of them. To get a clearer idea of what the Exempt Co.'s fire engine must have looked like, go here to see an old drawing of a New York Volunteer Fire Engine that had a similar design.
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