What a great bunch of volunteers we had with these 16 men (any relees?) forming our first Tamworth Volunteers Fire Brigade, which got underway in 1876.
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A man-powered fire engine was purchased the following year, arriving from England in 1878, and christened "The Little Squirt". Brigade members were soon paid for their services.
The Engine Station pictured was located around today's 370-372 Peel Street, near the entrance to today's Centrepoint Arcade.
A fire bell was installed at the Station in 1879.
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The first callout occurred on September 4, 1880, which proved rather farcical as it took 15 minutes for someone to find a key to unlock the gate to ring the bell behind the Station, and another 15 minutes to assemble the firehose.
By the time the firemen had pulled "The Little Squirt" 400 metres to the scene of the fire, someone had already put it out. Thankfully procedures improved after that.
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