Narragansett was originally part of the Town of South Kingstown until 1901 when it was chartered as a town by the Rhode Island General Assembly. Narragansett at that time, was a summer resort area for many New York socialites. A large number of hotels lined the shoreline to accommodate these summer residents. Trains would shuttle tourists from the Kingston train station into town and deposit them at the train station located on Boon St.
Fire protection was provided by various volunteer fire department in South Kingstown, but it would take them time to assemble a crew and respond to fire emergencies with their hand tub. Because of this, some local residents and politicians decided to form fire companies within community and provide better protection in the event of fire. Three companies were formed, they were:
Narragansett Hose Co. 1
Atlantic Hose Company
Canonchet Hose Company
Each of these fire companies had hose reels, but they did not have a hand tub and continued to rely on the volunteers from South Kingston for their "engine".
A large fire in September of 1900 convinced residents, not only the importance of fire protection, but the need to have it available in short order. This large fire, also known as the Rockingham fire, destroyed one entire block of Narragansett Pier taking with it, the Rockingham hotel, the Casino and Towers, as well as the fire house that housed the Atlantic Hose Company. This resulted in the creation of the Narragansett Pier Volunteer Fire Department which was housed on Rodman St. in the newly built Town Hall. The land belong to Narragansett Hose Company 1 and was sold to the Town provided that a fire station be built and equipment purchased for fire protection for the Town.
A "Soda Acid" Engine and Ladder truck were purchased and housed at the "new" fire station on Rodman St. The town continued to rely on South Kingstown to provide mutual aid with it's recent purchase of a steam fire engine. It was again another large fire in town that prompted residents to purchase a steam fire engine for Narragansett. An Amoskeag steam fire engine was brought to town to give a demonstration of the power and ability of this new engine. Residents and firefighters were so impressed with the ability of the engine that they purchased it without hesitation. This engine was originally built for the City of Chicago, but they did not take delivery following the large fire there that destroyed much of that city. The steamer was then used as a demonstrator by the Amoskeag Steam Fire Engine company and thus, landed in Narragansett. The Steamer is currently being restored by Greg Anderson and other department members and is the pride of the Narragansett Fire Department.
Infighting within the volunteer department led to the formation of the Narragansett Firemen's Club in 1928. This organization was the social organization for the fire department and continues to be the custodian of many of the records and antiques that the fire departmant has to this day. A Fire Chief was appointed by the town and the Chief would then recommend members to the Firemen's Club. To be a firefighter in the Town, you had to be a member of the Firemen's Club. You had to attend monthly meetings as well as training sessions in order to remain a member of the department. Also at this time, a caretaker was hired to work at the fire station and maintain the equipment.
With the town's growth in population in the 1950's and 60's, more men were added to staff the equipment at fire headquarters. Two new stations were opened in Galilee in the Town's south end and near Bonnet Shores in the Town's north end. These stations were staffed by volunteers and later by fire fighters on call.
Many of the fire fighter positions at headquarters were filled by political appointments. If the Democrats were in power, they would put their Fire Chief in and removed the other Chief. They would also remove the staff that didn't support their party. It was the same if the Republicans had the majority on the Town Council. A firefighter would be hired, give up a job he may have had for a number of years to serve on the Fire Department, only to be laid off when a different political party came to power.
In 1965, there were 9 members working 3 shifts on the department. They were approached by representatives of the International Association of Fire Fighters who offered to form a union fire house, with better wages and working conditions, but more importantly, job security. On December 13, 1965, Local 1589 of the International Association of Fire Fighters was chartered in the Town of Narragansett. The 9 members at that time were:
John E. Beaumont
Thomas Christoforo
Lawrence Coggeshall
John Cullen
George T. Lamphiere
John E. Riley
Robert Reilly
Frank Terminesi
Carlo Vellone
In 1975, three more members were added to the department and 4 shifts of 3 men were put in place. At fire headquarters, these men were responsible for two engines, a ladder and a rescue truck. The rescue was put in service during the 1960's and one man responded with the rescue truck hoping to get assistance on the scene from a volunteer or police officer. The Town Council approved paying the volunteers on a per call basis and they would meet the "paid" members at the fire scene.
The union fought for and won a landmark ruling for minimun manning, the FIRST in the US. The Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled that four fire fighters be on duty at all times at fire headquarters. The Town tried to fill these positions with "callmen", and again the union argued that the positions should be offered to union members who were on their days off first. Again, the union won the decision and four more men were hired to curb the overtime.
Staffing was now at 16 and the department
had outgrown it's station. In 1979, with federal assistance,
a "new" three bay Fire/Police station was opened at 40 Caswell Street.
The station houses two Engines, a Ladder truck, two Rescue trucks, a Fire
Alarm truck, and a utility vehicle.
Fire Headquarters
In 1989, the union negociated with
the Town of Narragansett to open the North and South end fire stations
and hired 16 more members to help staff these stations. Each of these
stations houses an Engine and a Rescue truck. There are currently
4 members on duty at fire headquarters and 2 members on duty at Station
2 (south end) and 2 members on duty at Station 3 (north end).
We owe a great debt of gratitude to our Charter members for all that they did in those early years, as well as those that worked tirelessly to improve our working conditions and salary. We strive to make our job safer and provide the Town of Narragansett with the best possible fire and rescue protection. We have a very dedicated and loyal group and are VERY proud to be members of Local 1589 of the International Association of Fire Fighters.
