Ilwaco Fire Department

Since 1887

The Ilwaco Hook and Ladder Company was formed in 1887. This early volunteer Fire Department began with one cart that carried all of the fire equipment consisting of a 75-gallon chemical tank, hose, ladders and water buckets. Using this equipment made it difficult to fight extremely large fires such as the Seaborg Cannery fire of August 1898.

After that devastating fire, Jack Wilson who had been a soldier remembered the old Army pumper located at Fort Canby. The huge pumper had worked well against the Astoria fire of 1883. It had been loaded aboard the steamer Washington that was tied up at the fort dock, taken across the river and assisted in saving a few of the remaining Astoria buildings. A year later, in 1899, Jack Wilson was able to purchase the pumper for the Hook and Ladder Company for $15.00.

This massive piece of equipment, an 1846 Jefferson Squirrel Tail Hand Pumper, was dubbed the “Mankiller” by those who operated it. It was built in New York, where it was used until after the Civil War. It then came to the west coast on a sailing ship around Cape Horn to serve at Fort Canby. The horse-drawn pumper was a plunger-type having four-inch suction and two and a half-inch discharge hose. It took sixteen men (eight on each side) to pump and operate it. It was pumped by pushing up and down one handle at a time pushing the water from the source through the hose.

The City of Ilwaco dug three cisterns to allow the pumper access to water for fighting fires. These cisterns along with various creeks provided a good water supply for the town. The last time the Mankiller was used was in 1920 when the Ilwaco Light and Power Company building caught fire. The fire was put out using water from Seaborg Creek.

The old Mankiller pumper said to be the oldest of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, can still be seen at the Ilwaco Fire Department.

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