Traveling around the backroads north of Ann Arbor I went through the town of Hamburg and I could not miss the bright red fire station in the center of town.

In 1837 The Town of Hamburg Michigan southwest of Brighton was named after Hamburg Germany and a Township hall was constructed. The building stood for over 100 years and on a cold December day in 1954 John Moore who took care of the hall lit the oil burning stove to warm it up and it exploded.  John Moore was fatally burned and died from the explosion. A fire truck was sent from Brighton and broke down on the way to Hamburg. The townspeople were able to get the fire under control but decided they needed their own fire department instead of relying on surrounding cities for help.

P.S. Thank you to all the firefighters, policemen and first responders who work over the holiday season.

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It’s hard to miss this fire station in downtown Negaunee. The station was built in 1910 and the circles in the top of the hose/bell tower once had clock faces in them. The clocks were moved to city hall.

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The Fireman’s Memorial is not far from Roscommon and lists the names of Michigan firefighters that have died.  Detroit-born sculptor Edward Chesney created the sculpture of the firefighter rescuing a young child. Next time you are headed up north on I-75 stop by the memorial. It’s not far from Exit 239 on Robinson Lake Rd about a half-mile east of M-18

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This brown building with a green roof sits in the town of Manton north of Cadillac. A small sign over the front door reads MANTON FIRE BARN 1872. I am guessing the bell was to alert firefighters to a fire and summoned them to the fire barn. The tower in the back was to hang and dry hoses. I did a little research, I am not sure, but I think this is one of the oldest fire stations still standing in Michigan. I did find this old photo of the fire barn and firefighters

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The old Milan Fire Barn was built in 1897 and served as a fire station until 1979. The building housed the fire department and some of the city’s fire vehicles, including a 1938 Ford Fire Truck that Henry Ford traded to the city for an earlier Ford fire truck. Over time it also housed the police department, a jail (which consisted of a single jail cell), and the city library was housed upstairs.

In 1979 the fire department moved to a new station on Wabash street and the old fire barn was abandoned. In 1983 the city donated the fire barn to the Milan Area Historical Society which restored the building in 2002 with money generated by fundraisers.

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Standing at the east end of downtown Holland’s shopping district, is the old city hall and Firehouse. I wonder how many people notice this stately old building while they are out shopping or enjoying a meal at one of the pubs. I know it’s not forgotten for there’s a historical marker out front recalling its history. The sign says

The city of Holland bought this lot in 1882, and contractor James Huntley began construction of a fire hall the next year. Completed in 1884, the building housed Holland’s city offices and library until 1912 and served as a fire hall until 1978. During World War II the west annex was built. In 1983 the firehouse was rehabilitated for use as office space. Grooves in the engine house floor that provided traction for the horses have been filled, and the doors, once replaced to accommodate trucks have been restored.

On March 8, 1884, some 150 people attended the Columbia Fire Engine Company’s oyster supper celebration honoring Holland’s new city hall and firehouse. The solid brick building reflects the desire for “fire proof” construction following the 1871 fire that devastated the city. The city clerk and a special committee consulted with the Grand Rapids firm of Robinson and Barnaby, and designed the structure with a tower to accommodate drying fifty-foot unfolded fire hoses. Originally a cupola topped the tower.

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I was roaming around Battle Creek and I came across this historic fire House. Carved in the stone at the top is No.2 Fire Station 1903. It is a beautiful looking building and still used today. Trying to find a little info about the building I came across this postcard from 1909.

It is always fascinating seeing an old photo of someplace I visited. I wonder about the stories the men could tell if this old postcard could talk.

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The fire station in Manistee just earned the Guinness World Record for the oldest continuously manned fire station in the world. Manned 24-hours a day, seven days a week since 1889.

The historical marker for the station gives a little bit of its history and reads:

In early October 1888, the Manistee City Council hired Frederick Hollister of Saginaw, the architect of Manistee’s principal school, to design a fire hall to replace the original station, which was constructed in 1872 – 1873 on Filer Street. Later that month the Manistee Democrat predicted that the city’s new fire hall would be “a model of convenience and usefulness.” Constructed of brick, cut-stone and French plate glass and trimmed with galvanized iron, this Romanesque Revival-style building was constructed by the local firm of Brownrigg and Reynolds at a cost of $7,516. The dome is covered with copper. The hall opened in June 1889 when Manistee’s first “fire truck,” a horse-drawn steam engine, was brought from the original hall. It is the oldest continually operated fire station in Michigan

Thank you to all to first responders and the people who work to keep us safe.

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