Hibernia And Alert Engines Useless

On March 7, 1857 at 1:00 a.m. the cry of “Fire!” rang out over Shippensburg. Citizens soon learned it was Criswell & Trone chair and cabinet shop near King Street (north side of the street). A fire believed to be incendiary in nature destroyed the building along with its contents and two nearby stables and their contents. The flames spread rapidly and was it feared the houses along King Street might start burning. A damage estimate was not available. The Vigilant Fire and Alert Fire Companies were soon on the scene but their engines the “Hibernia” and “Alert” were almost useless. The “Hibernia” will throw a good stream of water but is not equipped with a suction and the “Alert” is an old coffee grinder type engine. Several years before a Baltimore Company offered to install a suction on the Hibernia engine for $150 but borough authorities thought the money would be better spent purchasing another engine.

Both companies had been asking for new equipment for years and the local new papers constantly badmouthed the borough for not taking care of their fire equipment. It would be almost three years before the Vigilant engine would get replaced and you have already been told the story on this site what happened to the Alert engine.