Western Fire Company

History Of Western Fire Company #3

The Western Fire Company #3 was founded May 23, 1850 when a group of citizens petitioned the city council for a fire company in the west end of Madison. In August of 1850, the council approved funding to construct a fire house in the 700 block of West Main Street. The original fire house was constructed in front of what is now Lydia Middleton Elementary School. In 1923 the company relocated to its present location at 815 West Main Street. The fire company motto is "We Conquer To Save." The Threes answer all alarms in both downtown and on the hilltop.

In the beginning the newly formed company used a hand pumper, hose reel, and hose that were borrowed from Fair Play and Washington Fire Companies. In 1853 the company purchased its first Hand Pumper. The first Steam Pumper the company owned was a "Silsby," purchased in July 1868 for $500. It was nicknamed the "Hummingbird" because it sounded like a hummingbird as it was operating. In November 1891, the company purchased a new Ahrens Steam Pumper that was built in Cincinnati, Ohio. That Pumper was in service until October 1924, when the company purchased a motorized Ahrens-Fox Pumper for $11,500. In July 1939, the company was the first in Madison to break away from traditional red fire engines as it purchased a white Seagraves Pumper, costing $8300. Again, in 1964, the company purchased a white Seagraves Pumper for $27,900. That engine was in operation until September 1989 when the company took delivery of a white Darley Pumper. In July 2003, the company purchased its present engine, a white Pierce 1500 gpm Pumper. In 1919, while responding to a fire alarm in the east end, the horses would not pull fast enough, so the company bought a "Auto Horse" to replace the horses and pull the Steamer..It was a motorized device with one large wheel and 2 small wheels in the rear. While responding to an alarm, it made the turn at West & Main Streets and it and the Steamer flipped over into the side of Rogers Drug Store. Luckily, no one was seriously injured.

The company possesses a civil war era cannon known as "Old Smoky." For many years the cannon was fired on July 4th as part of the city celebration.

The company's district includes all of the city west of Vine Street downtown. We currently have 39 members on our roster, including 8 senior members with 40 or more years of service. Our address is 815 West Main Street and our phone number 265-2712. We meet on the second and fourth Monday's at 7:00 pm. The company elects officers each December to serve for the following year. Officers include President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer, Captain, 1st Lieutenant, 2nd Lieutenant, Engineer, Messenger, and Trustees.