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Museum page

The history of Enderby's fire protection began in 1905, with the laying of a water main along Cliff Street, from the bridge to the corner of Belvedere, with three hydrants attached. In 1906 the city, aided and persuaded by the local business community, purchased a fire hose and a storage box, which were stored temporarily in the harness room of a downtown stable. As more equipment was ordered and received, the fire hall came to be located under the city hall. Also in 1906, the first fire chief, Mr. J.C. English, was appointed by the city.

By the end of 1912, there was an organized fire brigade conducting monthly practices, and an assistant fire chief, A. Fulton, was hired, as was a secretary, J.A. Warwick, and two hose captains, E.B. Dill and E.J. Mack. Several fires had been fought by that time as well.

When Jim Sutherland became chief in the mid-thirties, the department had a small truck and police constables were appointed as assistant fire hall marshalls. It had also become illegal to park a car within ten feet of a city hydrant by that time. The next chief after Jim Sutherland was Russell Hutchison, then Bill Cameron. After Bill Cameron came Rolly Hill. While he was fire chief, the fire department moved to a renovated barn behind city hall (where the library and museum are now). The King Edward Hotel burned down in 1947.

The next chief was John Pritchard, followed by Cecil Smith, who ordered a new truck for the Shuswap Fire District. In 1965, an addition was built on to the fire hall, and in December, Don MacPherson became chief and Pete Litzenberger became assistant fire chief. While Chief MacPherson was in charge, the fire Department acquired a pumper truck and another fire truck, moved to a new fire hall in 1985, and fought several large fires, such as the fire at A.L. Fortune. The Shuswap River Fire Protection area was formed in the late sixties, soon after Don MacPherson became chief.

In February of 1988, Ron MacPherson and Irwin Lundman became chief and assistant chief, respectively. Since then, a 911 emergency system has been installed locally, and response times for the department have decreased noticeably.

Bernadette Donovan, Kevin Steinwand, Vicky Tulak
ALF School, 1989