Maine's Capital Area

On Sunday morning, September 17th, Ward Chase, a resident of Water Street, and owner of a
downtown business which he lived above, was rudely awakened to the smell of smoke as a furious fire started in the unoccupied building next door. The fire quickly spread to adjoining wooden
structures on the east side of Water Street at the base of Oak Street, largely due to a prolonged dry spell and the wooden boardwalk that spanned the east side of the street. Embers from the fire spread the flames rapidly under the wooden boardwalk and to buildings on the west side of Water Street igniting eventually 100 buildings ablaze.

Mr. Chase, having alerted the Augusta Fire Department and other residents of the downtown,
proceeded to assist in the firefighting effort. The Chief engineer, Eri Wills, responded to the alarm with the recently purchased steam engine, Cushnoc, along with the other two fire engines, the Atlantic and Pacific hand pumpers. Chief Wills placed the Cushnoc on Vose Wharf to effectively fight the fire from Front Street. The two hand pumpers were positioned at the north and south end of
Water Street in order to protect buildings yet to be consumed by the rapidly advancing flames as well as the wooden covered bridge over the Kennebec.

Damages from the fire were estimated at over $500,000 of which half that amount was recouped in insurance claims. Soon after the flames were extinguished the citizens of Augusta began rebuilding the downtown with brick and granite structures with a few temporary wooded buildings. The damage was extensive destroying banks, the post office, many shops and professional offices,
billiard parlors, saloons and stables.

Andrew B. Loman will speak on the history of firefighting in the 19th century and the valiant efforts of those men and women who fought the inferno as well as the devastation that resulted in the rapid rebuilding of the 100 structures that were destroyed by the event. Andrew retired from Maine Medical Center after a long and successful career in Healthcare Management and teaching at a number of Universities in Maine and other New England States in 2010. Upon retirement, he became involved with his lifelong passion for history and historical buildings which he expressed through his involvement as Vice Chair of the Augusta Historic Preservation Commission and his volunteering as a
docent at the Maine State Museum. His interest in firefighting began as an adolescent when he joined his local fire dept. and continued in volunteer and call firefighting experiences in New Jersey, Massachusetts and finally Maine. Although no longer active in the Fire Service, he has remained active in exploring the history of firefighting, equipment and uniforms of the 19th century.

Credit for this article is owed to James North's History of Augusta, The Kennebec Journal Centennial Edition and an article by Anthony Drouin, retired State Archivist.

The Kennebec Historical Society Public Presentation will take place on Wednesday, February 17, 2016, at 6:30pm at the