Authored by Katie Spiller
On October 31st, 1869, beginning about 2:30am, Brattleboro, Vermont suffered from a major fire destroying an entire block on Main Street (Cabot 1922). It was the first of two major fires the town experienced in the late 19th century which sparked local businessmen to envision and eventually implement improved firefighting methods (Pierce 2015). The fire began in an eating saloon in the center of the block and moved south and north quickly because four reasons hindered firefighting efforts that day (Brattleboro Historical Society 2021). One, the system for sounding the fire alarm required the nightwatchman to run to the nearest bell tower minutes away; then after more minutes, only two more bells were rung within town leaving several townspeople unalerted (Cabot 1922, 852). Two, four weeks before the fire, a record-breaking flood damaged the water wheel responsible for moving water to this part of town (Pomeroy 1894; Burnham1880). Three, the flood also washed out a bridge making accessing the fire time-consuming for one engine (Cabot 1922, 852). Lastly, the engine closest to the fire had been severely tampered with. The Vermont Record and Farmer, a local newspaper, reported that two leather plugs were inserted into the engine’s hose, paper plugged the works, and buckskin clogged the valves (Brattleboro History, n.d.). Caleb Lysander Howe, the local photographer, captured the remnants of the Brattleboro House after the fire ceased (Brattleboro Historical Society 2020). The town healed from this disaster a few years later with the construction of the commercial Crosby Block and the Brooks House hotel (Brattleboro Historical Society, n.d.).
The Vermont Record and Farmer gave an account of the women’s “superhuman” efforts to help fight this fire (Brattleboro History, n.d., para. 26). Women were tasked with removing furniture and goods from at-risk buildings; they also made and delivered coffee to the men working the engines (Brattleboro History, n.d.). In addition, Mary Cabot wrote that women joined the firemen passing buckets of water from the nearest brook (1922, 849). This is the extent of the firefighting efforts women were generally allowed to perform at this time. Women were excluded from fire companies into the early 1900s; some women extraordinarily began forming their own volunteer fire companies around 1910-1920 (Floren 2007). It is not too far to assume that there were women physically able and willing to join fire companies at this time but were refused membership. First-wave feminism began in the 1840s, but was placed on hold during the Civil War; by the end of the 1860s, women’s rights had become an increasingly popular topic of conversation (National Women’s History Museum, n.d.). Even though more women began joining fire companies, women firefighters were still taboo until the 1970s during the height of second-wave feminism (Floren 2007). Today, women make up 9% of the firefighting workforce in the United States; this is up from 3% in 2007 (Fahy, Evarts, and Stein 2022; Miller et al. 2016). In Vermont, many fire departments are understaffed and unable to support their town’s growing populations (Bakuli 2021). One solution to this lack of staff is to attract a more diverse workforce by making systemic changes. More work still needs to be done to create a comfortable space for women to join fire departments, including properly fitted uniforms, separate bunks and bathrooms, representation on brochures, and more (United States Fire Administration 2007). Women have fought long and hard for the little respect they have in today’s workforce, and women’s rights advocates will stop at nothing to see the day when men and women are viewed and treated as equals.
References
Bakuli, Ethan. 2021. “The Question for Understaffed Vermont Volunteer Fire Depts: Should They Hire Full Time Staff?” Burlington Free Press, February 19, 2021. https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/2021/02/19/fighting-vermont-fires-departments-primarily-volunteer-based-what-happens-when-they-see-fewer-recrui/6747595002/.
Brattleboro Historical Society. 2020. “A Legacy of Images Still Enjoyed Today.” Brattleboro Reformer, November 27, 2020. https://www.reformer.com/history/a-legacy-of-images-still-enjoyed-today/article_78c92e68-30be-11eb-a3bd-b702842a516f.html.
Brattleboro Historical Society. 2021. “When Commercial Buildings Were Made of Wood.” Brattleboro Reformer, October 14, 2021. https://www.reformer.com/community-news/when-commercial-buildings-were-made-of-wood/article_fa02511a-2cfa-11ec-94b8-6b505bee4ea5.html.
Brattleboro Historical Society. 2022. “Brooks House.” June 27, 2022. https://bhs802.org/brooks-house/.
Brattleboro History. n.d. “Brattleboro House Arson Fire, November 1869.” Accessed March 7, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20211020122828/http://brattleborohistory.com/main-street/the-brattleboro-house-arson-fire-1869.html.
Burnham, Henry. 1880. Brattleboro, Windham County, Vermont: Early History, with Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Citizens. Brattleboro, VT: D. Leonard.
Cabot, Mary R. Annals of Brattleboro 1681-1895. 1922. Vol. 2. Brattleboro, VT: E.L. Hildreth & Co.
Fahy, Rita, Ben Evarts, and Gary P. Stein. 2022. “U.S. Fire Department Profile.” National Fire Protection Association, September 2022. https://www.nfpa.org/News-and-Research/Data-research-and-tools/Emergency-Responders/US-fire-department-profile.
Miller, Abby, Sue Clery, Samantha Richardson, Amelia Topper, Stephanie Cronen, Samantha Lilly, Emma Hinkens, and Michelle Yin. 2016. Promising Practices for Increasing Diversity among First Responders. Bethesda, MD: Coffey Consulting.
National Women’s History Museum. n.d. “Woman Suffrage Timeline (1840-1920).” Accessed March 7, 2023. https://www.crusadeforthevote.org/woman-suffrage-timeline-18401920.
Pomeroy, Frank T., ed. 1894. Picturesque Brattleboro: With over Two Hundred Illustrations. Northampton, MA: Picturesque Publishing Company.
Terese, Floren M. 2007. “History of Women in Firefighting.” Women in Fire. https://womeninfire.org/resources-links/history-of-women-in-firefighting/. United States Fire Administration. 2007. Retention and Recruitment for the Volunteer Emergency Services: Challenges and Solutions. Emmitsburg, MD: Federal Emergency Management Agency.