Firehouse pole was invented in Illinois

The firehouse pole is one of the most recognizable symbols of American firefighting and captures the imagination of the general public. Many researchers believe the fire pole was invented in Illinois.

Although there is debate, many believe Engine Company 21, an all-Black unit in Chicago, was the first to use a fire pole in 1878. The waxed, wooden pole helped the men get from the upper stories of the firehouse to the ground floor and respond to emergency calls faster than other companies.

Engine Company 21 is a story in itself. Established in 1872, it was the first Black company in the Chicago Fire Department, and the only Black paid firehouse in the nation. The company quickly earned a strong reputation for efficiency and bravery in service.

A Chicago Tribune article from March 11, 1888, reported “there are no fire men in the city with better records” than the members of Engine Company 21, who were described as men “with magnificent lungs and splendid muscles” that could “climb like squirrels and stand a deadly back-draft without flinching.”

In December 2022, the African-American firemen of Chicago hosted a 150th anniversary celebration for the founding of Engine Company 21. The company also is the subject of a book by DeKalb Walcott Jr., a retired battalion chief on the Chicago Fire Department, whose son also is a Chicago firefighter.

In its early days, the firehouse of Engine Company 21 was a three-story, wood-frame structure at 313 Third Ave., which has since been renumbered to 919 S. Plymouth Court. By then, many American firehouses had grown from one-story facilities to multistory structures, mainly to house the horses and equipment, which was continually growing in size.

Since the boilers, equipment and horses needed maintenance and care, sleeping and living quarters were added as many companies, particularly in larger cities, were staffed around the clock. In most instances, the horses were stabled on the first floor, while the men slept above. Reportedly, hay for the horses at Engine Company 21 was stacked in a hayloft on the third floor.

To quickly drop to the first floor, men originally used spiral staircases, as did Engine Company 21. Sliding chutes were sometimes used. Some accounts claim that spiral staircases were built to keep horses from climbing to the men’s quarters, although other researchers dispute that.

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The captain of Engine Company 21 was David Kenyon, who may have been the only white member of the unit. Born Aug. 27, 1836, in the Bronx, New York, he moved to Chicago in 1856 and joined a volunteer fire brigade. In 1861, he enlisted in Civil War service and may have served at various times in both the 12th Illinois and 57th Illinois infantry regiments, fighting in several key battles in the western theater.

In 1866, Kenyon married Mary Houser, a union that produced nine children, many of whom did not live to adulthood. On Dec. 1, 1869, Kenyon joined the Chicago Fire Department as a pipeman and eventually earned a promotion to captain Dec. 5, 1872.

On April 21, 1878, Kenyon and one of Engine Company 21′s firefighters, George Reid (whose name is sometimes spelled “Reed”), were stacking hay using a long wooden pole to lift the hay bales from the first to the third floors. As they worked, the company received a fire call.

Reid, who was standing on the third floor, instantly jumped onto the pole and slid down, reaching the ground faster than the other men, who ran down the spiral staircase from their quarters on the second floor.

Many credit Reid as the first to use a fire pole. Kenyon, however, took it a step further, devising a plan to create a permanent fire pole as a faster alternative to stairs or a chute.

Engine Company 21 proceeded to take a 4-by-4 timber of Georgia pine, which they shaved into a pole 3 inches in diameter. The pole was refined with heavy sanding, as well as varnish and paraffin. Kenyon then received permission to cut a hole in the upper floors of the firehouse to install the pole.

Not surprisingly, many laughed at this contraption until they realized how much time it saved. Engine Company 21 became known for its speed in responding to calls, mainly because the pole was so much faster.

One source writes that the “full team could go from their sleeping quarters upstairs and horses in their stalls to a fully hitched and mounted rig in something like 14 or 15 seconds in daytime, 25 or 26 seconds at night.” Another Chicago station had a pole installed May 24, barely a month after Engine Company 21 and soon, the Chicago departmental chief ordered other firehouses to install poles.

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While most sources accept that Engine Company 21 created the first fire pole, there is plenty of debate. In St. Joseph, Missouri, some believe the local fire department was using a waxed, wooden fire pole as early as 1871. However, there is scant documentation to support this claim, as the story mostly arose in later newspaper accounts.

Enthusiasts in Louisville, Kentucky, claim their firemen were using a pole even earlier, possibly dating to 1858. One source, however, labels the Louisville story as a “poorly documented oral fire service history.”

Some also believe that New York was the first to employ a firehouse pole, in April 1878, ironically, the same month as Engine Company 21 in Chicago. The fire department of Boston is believed to be the first to use a brass pole in 1880, although others credit nearby Worcester, Massachusetts, with the original brass pole that same year.

Firehouse poles, however, have come under scrutiny in recent years, and many new firehouses do not have them, mainly because multi-story fire facilities are generally on the decline. Beginning in the late 1940s, many firehouses were built with one story, sometimes in bungalow style.

Safety was another issue; one account reports that 18 firemen died between 1890 and 1930 in the U.S. after falling from fire poles.

More recent newspaper coverage has documented injuries resulting from fire pole accidents. In the U.S., the National Fire Protection Association has recommended the removal of poles from fire stations because of safety hazards.

Still, some firehouses keep their poles, partially due to tradition. A 2005 article in the New York Times noted that in some departments, “veterans didn’t welcome the transition to stairs.”

One of the nation’s leading producers of fire poles, Massachusetts-based McIntire Brass, has indicated that fire pole sales actually have increased in recent times.

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The fire pole was not the only innovation by David Kenyon. Many also credit him with the invention of an automatic door to quickly open the way for horses and men. Like the pole, the door improved response times.

Kenyon later ascended to acting fire marshal and battalion chief, but lost his life in the line of duty six years after his fire pole invention. At 1:30 p.m. Oct. 3, 1884, Engine Company 21 was responding to a call of an awning fire at 200 S. Clark St. on the city’s North Side when his buggy collided with Engine 32 at the corner of Dearborn and Monroe streets.

Kenyon was thrown from his buggy and struck in the back by a wheel of Engine 32, dragging him at least a dozen feet over rough terrain.

Kenyon was transported to his home at 515 State St. Many sources report that he never regained consciousness, although one account from the Chicago Inter-Ocean quoted his wife as saying Kenyon was “delirious almost constantly” and in “great pain.”

David Kenyon died Oct. 25, 1884, and was buried in Chicago’s Rosehill Cemetery. One obituary succinctly called him “an excellent fireman and a good citizen.”

• Tom Emery is a freelance writer and historical researcher from Carlinville. He may be reached at 217-710-8392 or ilcivilwar@yahoo.com.