The Spokane Fire Department was established in 1884 after a hot dry summer with
             several fires, one of which destroyed sixteen businesses along Main Street. The original
             department had twenty-three volunteers and two hose carts. In the summer of 1889,
             nearly the entire downtown area burned to the ground including two of the three fire
             stations. By the end of that year, a paid department was established with twenty-five
             members, new horse drawn steam pumpers and an annual budget of $33,000.
             The first significant fire in Spokane occurred on the night of January 19, 1883. The
             temperature was a frigid twenty-six degrees below zero. The blaze began in the store of
             F. R. Moore and Co. on the southeast corner of Howard and Front. Pistol shots sounded
             the alarm but a hastily formed bucket brigade proved insignificant and the fire quickly
             burned south to the alley, consuming half a city block containing five businesses. This
             disaster prompted owners to rebuild in brick, but few others followed their example and
             Spokane continued to grow as an unmanaged hodgepodge of brick and wood. An ensuing
             period of good luck allayed citizens' fears and the fire protection issue was set aside.
             On May 3, 1884, the first call for a volunteer fire department appeared in a
             humorous paper called The Mule. The unknown writer declared Spokane to be
             "completely at the mercy of that ruthless destroyer of cities - fire!" The ensuing summer
             was hot and dry and by mid-July the city fathers may have been beginning to worry about
             their investments. On July 7, 1884, city council members, Mayor James M. Glover, A. M.
             Cannon, Havermale, Deuber, Berg and Turner met to discuss how to acquire some means
             of fire protection. A committee was appointed to decide how many hydrants were needed
             and to investigate the terms for purchase of equipment. During the summer of 1884,
             several small fires kept nerves on edge. Effort...