While many Lewistown residents were sitting down to Christmas dinner 78 years ago, 28 men rushed from their homes to answer a fire alarm.

The fire in the E. K. Cheadle residence could have resulted in much damage but with the quick response by the firemen all was saved.

A Christmas Day fire is just of the many "dreads" of a firemen, but the countless fires that have occurred in the city of Lewistown over the 80 odd years of the department’s existence have been handled just as efficiently.

A few of the most talked about and maybe the more spectacular fires include the hotel where the Fire Department held its first meeting – the Lewistown Hotel.

Lewistown Hotel

The alarm sounded at 2:18 p.m., Wednesday, September 18, 1901. The first company to arrive saw flames coming from the roof and within minutes it was under control and one hour later the apparatus was returned to the station.

A few of the men who will be remembered for helping fight the fire were H. A. Phillips, Al Johnson, B. C. Wiedman, George Huber and Emil Jensen.

February 12, 1938, and alarm range at 10:20 p.m. and despite the tremendous efforts by the fire department, the Montana Lumber Company burned. Many people were on hand to help with the blaze including Stanley Cook, Ralph Wetzel, Ted Bachman, M. M. Goodall and Fred Shoemaker.

A few years later in 1947, the Green Lantern, a liquor store and bar at 301 West Main burned. The call was made at 2:01 a.m. on Jan. 3.

Records indicate that the men were at the scene of this fire until at least 3:45 p.m. the next day. There were more than 30 members of the department who responded and four fire apparatus were used.

Some of those at the first include Eugene Mack, Charles Messier, Joe Schmidt, George Fries, Jack Heckford, John and Frank Simonfy, Ralph Kucera, Chris Stoudt and George St. Peter.

According to George St. Peter, who is still a resident of Lewistown, that was his last fire and the first one for Bob Brown, a member of the present department.

Other fires included the Farmers elevator located on First Avenue South, which burned on May 21, 1957, the Flour Mill on East Main was damaged in an Aug. 10, 1969 fire and the Bourk Hotel was destroyed on Feb. 12, 1959.

Each of theses fires took many man-hours to control and without the firemen’s efforts much more would have been lost.

R. Schull, D. J. Butterfield, Al Heckford and Tom Powell will be remembered at the elevator fire as will Bob Chapman, L. Hertz Simos, B. Flesch and Pete Swidell at the hotel fire.

Fah, Moseman, Iva Abott, Gene Mossey and Lloyd Johnson assisted in the efforts at the mill fire in 1969.

Many of the residents of Central Montana will remember the fire that destroyed the Fergus High School.

According to the department’s records, the fire occurred on April 30, 1918. The station received a call around 10:20 informing them a barn of Hal Gibson’s on the north side of town was on fire.

But that wasn’t the only call received.

Minutes later the fire fighters responded to a call that a barn on the sound end of Water Street was on fire.

At 10:37 it was discovered that the high school was ablaze. The firemen fought the fire into the night and one fireman, Billy LaCock, was injured by a falling timber.

The fire destroyed the main building and an addition.

The early records of the Lewistown Fire Department are limited with the first history being recorded by Art. J. Baker in about 1916. According to the records, Baker was the assistant chief at the time he began writing the history of the department.

Many of the accounts within this article were taken from the records by Baker with many more coming from firehouse stories and memories of the retired Lewistown firefighters.

The Lewistown Volunteer Fire Company was organized on Aug. 6, 1898, at the Lewistown Hotel.

At the first meeting William T. McFarland was elected as the president; John C. Bebb, foreman; W. D. Symmes, secretary; and F. D. Wright, treasurer. Chas Branumchide was elected vice president at a later meeting. Thomas Bromley was the assistant chief and J. W. Foster and H. A. Phillips were appointed as the captains of engining and hose companies respectfully.

J. C. Bebb

Also serving in the first unit of the fire department were Halsey R. Watson, E. F. McKechnie, Frank E. Wright, Al Bebb, Emil Jensen, R. A. Hanke and W. H. Hopkins.

Through the years that followed, the fire department grew along with the list of names of those interested in preserving life and property from the ravages of fire.

Many of the names that have appeared on the department’s roster are still familiar to Central Montana’s today. Names like A. L. d’Autremont, W. J. Able, B. C. Wiedeman, John Crowley, Charles Fowler, F. B. Scovel, Ed Martin, W. S. Devine and Oscar Martinson.

Several of the fire fighter’s names are not only known in this area but throughout Montana.

Roy E. Ayers, who later became governor of the State of Montana was just one of the men. Another included Tom Stout, a U. S. Congressman, and Emmitt Carruthers for whom the Lewistown VFW Post was named.

By 1917 there were 46 members who had served for five continuous years as members of the Lewistown Volunteer Company.

The fire fighters listed above are just a few of the hundreds of volunteers who have passed through the doors during the years since the department first originated.

John C. Bebb, the first chief of the department, retired in June of 1918 at which time Art J. Baker became chief and A. J. Littlejohn took over the job of assistant chief.

Other residents who have served as chiefs include Ernest Muir, Chester Foucher, Robert L. Brassey, Charles Pentecost, Robert L. Knuth and the present chief Sonny Moline.

The assistant chiefs were Tom Bromley, C. W. Baylies, J. W. Foster, A VanIderstine, J. T. Littlejohn, William Dix, I. G. Vehawn, Charles Wentworth, Carl Longfellow, Pentecost, Knuth and Moline.